China test-launches a ballistic missile in the South Pacific and raises regional concerns

Source: AP

By HUIZHONG WU and CHARLOTTE GRAHAM-MCLAY
Updated 7:12 AM CDT, July 6, 2026
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BANGKOK (AP) — China’s navy test-launched a long-range ballistic missile Monday from one of its nuclear-powered submarines in the South Pacific in a rare move that drew protests and concerns from countries in the region.

The missile was launched at 12:01 p.m. local time and carried a dummy warhead, according to the official Xinhua News Agency. China last conducted a missile test in the Pacific two years ago, firing an intercontinental ballistic missile with a dummy warhead, the first in decades since 1980.

The 2024 launch mirrored the testing the United States conducts for its own ballistic missile fleet, which experts viewed as an assertion of China’s growing superpower status.

Monday’s launch was part of routine annual training, complied with international law and practice, and was not directed against any country or target, according to a short statement from Xinhua, which was reposted by the Ministry of Defense.


Sailors march past the insignia for the People’s Liberation Army (PLA)'s naval submarine academy during a tour arranged for foreign journalists a day before the opening of the West Pacific Naval Symposium in Qingdao in eastern China’s Shandong province, Sunday, April 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan, File)

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