China conducts ballistic missile test in South Pacific nuclear-free zone

BEIJING (Terror Monitor) —China has reportedly carried out a long-range ballistic missile test from a nuclear-powered submarine in the South Pacific, prompting concern and protest from regional countries.

According to the state news agency Xinhua, the missile was launched at 12:01 p.m. local time and carried a dummy warhead. China said the launch was part of routine annual training conducted in accordance with international law.

This marks the first such reported test in the region in two years. The last known test involved an intercontinental ballistic missile also fired with a dummy warhead.

New Zealand said it was notified only hours before the launch and raised concerns that the missile was fired into the South Pacific Nuclear-Free Zone, established under the Rarotonga Treaty of 1986, which prohibits nuclear weapons in the region.

Wellington stated that despite long-standing concerns about such activities, China proceeded with the test shortly after notification.

The launch came on the same day Australia and Fiji signed a new mutual defence agreement aimed at countering China’s growing influence in the Pacific.

Australia’s Foreign Minister Penny Wong said the test was viewed as harmful to regional stability, adding that Canberra had made its position clear to Beijing.