China fires submarine-launched ballistic missile into open Pacific for first time with hours of notice
China fired a submarine-launched ballistic missile into open Pacific waters for the first time, giving Washington and Tokyo only hours of notice. Australia and New Zealand protested the July 6 test, a public display of Beijing's sea-based nuclear deterrent. Per CNN and USNI News.
China launched a ballistic missile from a submarine into open Pacific waters on July 6, the first time it has fired a submarine-launched ballistic missile into international waters. The missile carried a dummy warhead and, according to the PLA Navy, landed precisely in designated waters. The United States and Japan received only hours of advance notice and Australia about 23 hours, short of the notification standards in the Hague Code of Conduct, per CSIS. Australia and New Zealand criticized the test as a threat to regional peace and stability. CSIS estimates the flight path at roughly 7,300 kilometers. The launch coincided with the start of China's annual naval exercise with Russia, per USNI News. Previous Chinese SLBM launches stayed in waters close to the mainland. Moving the test into the open Pacific turns a technical trial into a public demonstration of a sea-based nuclear strike capability, aimed as much at regional audiences as at Washington. Reporting: CNN, USNI News, CSIS.