China missile test in Pacific heightens regional security concerns

On Monday July 6, China's military tested and fired a missile from a nuclear-powered submarine into the Pacific state media reported, drawing ‌criticism and concern from Japan, Australia, New Zealand and Taiwan.

As reported by Xinhua strategic nuclear-powered submarine belonging to the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) successfully test-fired a long-range ballistic missile which carried a simulated training dummy warhead, landed precisely in a pre-designated international water zone.

Xinhua did not specify the exact type of missile while state-controlled tabloid Global Times, citing a military expert, said it was likely to have been the JL-3, China's most advanced submarine-launched missile, which debuted at a military parade last year.

According to Pentagon's report, the missile could reach the continental United States from Chinese coastal waters.

While the Chinese state agency described the launch as a "routine arrangement" of China's annual military training and not directed against any specific country or target.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning also informed the launch was conducted "safely, in a standardized and professional manner throughout."

"We hope relevant countries will not over-interpret the matter," Ning further stressed in a briefing at Beijing.

While China has possessed submarine-launched ballistic missiles for decades, it historically conducts operational tests internally such as within the tightly controlled Bohai Gulf.

The event marks a major evolution change in Beijing’s willingness to publicly flex the sea-based leg of its nuclear triad on the global stage.

Moreover, the launch follows an equally rare land-based intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) test that China fired toward French Polynesia in September 2024.