China ‘successfully’ tests strategic missile from submarine

China said Monday it had “successfully conducted” the test launch of a strategic missile from a submarine, hours after Beijing notified several Pacific nations of the planned test.

“The Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy on Monday successfully conducted the test launch of a strategic missile by a submarine,” state-run Xinhua News reported.

The launch marks China’s second strategic missile test since it fired an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) into the Pacific Ocean on Sept. 25, 2024, the first such test since 1980.

Earlier Monday, media outlets in Australia, New Zealand and Japan reported that regional governments had been informed by China of an imminent test launch of a nuclear-capable long-range missile in the South Pacific.

According to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, maritime intelligence company Starboard also “published images showing that China currently has two satellite tracking vessels in the Pacific region, which would be used to monitor a test ballistic missile launch.”

Japan was also notified in advance, according to Kyodo News, which said Tokyo urged Beijing to “rethink” the missile test and conveyed its “serious concern.”