China has claimed to have effectively launched an ICBM carrying a fake bomb into the Pacific Ocean.
The ICMB was launched at 08: 44 local time ( 04: 44 GMT ) on Wednesday and “fell into expected sea areas”, Beijing’s defence ministry said, adding that the test launch was “routine” and part of its “annual training”.
Although the type and flight path of the weapon remained a mystery, Chinese state media reported that Beijing had “informed the nations concerned in progress”
Because the test was the last one to take place in 1980, Beijing’s depiction of it as “routine” surprised researchers.
China’s nuclear weapons testing typically take place internally, and it has recently fired westward into the Taklamakan Desert in the Xinjiang area using ICBMs.
Therefore, it is thought that this is the first time an ICBM has been launched into foreign waters since 1980.
Ankit Panda, a nuclear weapons consultant at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, wrote on X that” I believe this is basically the first time this has happened- and been announced as quite- in a long time.”
He added that Beijing’s description of the test as “routine” and “annual” was odd, “given that they do n’t do this sort of thing either routinely or annually”.
The Japanese defense department reported that no harm to its ships as of early on Wednesday.
According to Chinese broadcaster NHK, the government said,” We will continue to gather and analyze information regarding the motions of the Chinese martial and may take all reasonable precautions in our attention and monitoring.”
When China next did such a check- in May 1980- the ICBM flew 9, 070km and landed in the Pacific. One of China’s largest marine operations, that exam involved 18 Chinese ships, which is still ongoing.
John Ridge, a US-based defence analyst, said China may include conducted the test as a form of “posturing or signalling to the United States”.
Beijing and Washington’s relationship has improved over the past year, but China’s growing confidence in the area continues to be a sticking level.
Tensions have ramped up between China and the Philppines as their ships have repeatedly collided in disputed waters. Last month, Japan scrambled fighter jets after it accused a Chinese spy plane of breaching its air space, a move that it called “utterly unacceptable”.
Beijing’s says over self-governed Taiwan have been another cause of stress.
Taiwan’s defence department said before on Wednesday that China had been carrying out “intensive” weapon fire and other training lately. In the same speech, the government said it had detected 23 Chinese martial plane operating around Taiwan on “long-range operations”.
In what experts believe to be a “greyzone battle” strategy, Beijing regularly sends ships and plane into Japanese waters and airspace in an effort to normalize the incursions.
In July this year, China suspended its nuclear arms control talks with Washington, in retaliation for the US’ continued arms sales to Taiwan.
Last year, China replaced two leaders of the People’s Liberation Army’s Rocket Force unit – the elite unit managing its nuclear arsenal – over corruption allegations.
In a report published last year, the Pentagon estimated that China has more than 500 operational nuclear warheads in its arsenal, of which approximately 350 are ICBMs.
Additionally, the report predicted that China will have over 1, 000 weapons by 2030. However, that is a fraction of the more than 5, 000 weapons that the US and Russia each say they possess.