China carries out rare Pacific ballistic missile test, raising regional tensions

China has carried out a rare submarine-launched ballistic missile test in the Pacific Ocean, prompting concern from New Zealand and Australia over regional security.

According to CNN, the People's Liberation Army Navy said a submarine launched a strategic missile carrying a dummy warhead into designated waters in the Pacific as part of its annual military training.

"This test launch was a routine part of China’s annual military training schedule," PLA Navy spokesperson Senior Capt. Wang Xuemeng said in a statement carried by CNN.

"The operation was in accordance with international law and practice, targeting no specific country or objective," he added.

According to CNN, the missile travelled over the exclusive economic zones of the Federated States of Micronesia, Nauru, Kiribati and Tuvalu before landing near the maritime boundary of Kiribati or Tuvalu.

The US State Department said it monitored the launch of an unarmed, nuclear-capable intercontinental-range ballistic missile and expressed concern over China's expanding nuclear programme.

"Beijing’s rapid and opaque nuclear weapons buildup is of great concern to the region and the world," a State Department spokesperson said.

New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters criticised the launch, noting the missile was fired into waters covered by the South Pacific Nuclear Free Zone established under the Treaty of Rarotonga.

China did not disclose which missile was used. The report indicated that the country's navy operates both the JL-2 and the longer-range JL-3 submarine-launched ballistic missiles, with the latter capable of reaching the continental United States.