The People’s Liberation Army Rocket Force fired the missile at 8:44 a.m. local time on Wednesday and it ‘landed in the predetermined sea area.’
China has test-fired an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) into the Pacific Ocean, its first such test since 1980.
The Defence Ministry in Beijing said Wednesday’s launch was not directed at any country or target and was in line with international law.
The ministry said the missile was launched by the People’s Liberation Army Rocket Force (PLARF) at 8:44 a.m. local time and, “accurately landed in the predetermined sea area.”
The CCP regime said it was a, “routine arrangement in our annual training plan.”
The Chinese military has been increasingly flexing its muscles in the the Asia-Pacific region, and has regularly clashed with Taiwan, the Philippines, Japan and Vietnam.
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The report said between January 2023 and January 2024, China increased its nuclear stockpile to 500 warheads from 410.
In June, Hans M. Kristensen, associate senior fellow with SIPRI’s Weapons of Mass Destruction Program, said, “China is expanding its nuclear arsenal faster than any other country … in nearly all of the nuclear-armed states, there are either plans or a significant push to increase nuclear forces.”
Cotton stated, “The PRC [People’s Republic of China] has approximately 1,000 medium and intermediate-range dual-capable conventional or nuclear ballistic missiles capable of inflicting significant damage to U.S., Allied, or partner forces and homelands in the Indo-Pacific.”
China conducted its first test firing of an ICBM in May 1980, when it sent a DF-5 missile almost 6,000 miles.
Although China and North Korea are both communist and share some military secrets, it is not clear if there is any coordination of missile tests between Beijing and Pyongyang.
There are nine nuclear-armed states, including the United States, Russia, the United Kingdom, France, China, India, Pakistan, North Korea, and Israel.
Reuters contributed to this report.
