CHINA CONDUCTS BALLISTIC MISSILE TEST IN SOUTH PACIFIC

China's navy test-launched a long-range ballistic missile from a nuclear-powered submarine in the South Pacific on Monday at 12:01 p.m., according to the official Xinhua News Agency. The missile carried a dummy warhead. China stated the launch formed part of routine annual training, complied with international law and practice, and was not directed against any country or target. The test drew criticism from Australia, Japan and New Zealand.

New Zealand's government reported it received notification of the planned launch hours before it took place. The missile was fired into the South Pacific Nuclear Free Zone, established by the 1986 Treaty of Rarotonga, which prohibits nuclear weapons testing throughout the region. China ratified the treaty's protocols in 1987, pledging not to test nuclear weapons within the zone. New Zealand's Foreign Minister Winston Peters stated the launch occurred within hours of China informing the country of its intention to proceed. Australia's Foreign Minister Penny Wong described the test as destabilising to the region.

This marked China's second ballistic missile test in the Pacific in two years, with the previous launch taking place in 2022 and involving an intercontinental ballistic missile with a dummy warhead. That 2022 test represented the first such launch in decades since 1980. The 2024 launch coincided with the signing of a new mutual defence treaty between Australia and Fiji, which officials framed as a counter to Chinese influence in the Pacific region. Experts characterised the test as a demonstration of China's growing superpower status, comparable to testing conducted by the United States for its own ballistic missile fleet.