China unexpectedly fires an intercontinental missile into the Pacific. However, many details about the test are still unclear. The Ministry of Defense is also initially providing only vague information.
China says it has fired an intercontinental missile with a dummy warhead into the Pacific Ocean for the first time in decades. The People’s Liberation Army’s missile force carried out the test in the morning (local time); the missile fell into the planned target area on the high seas, the Defense Ministry in Beijing announced. The announcement is unusual, as China’s missile tests of this kind are rarely made public.
According to the authority, it was a routine exercise in the unit’s annual training plan. The missile test was not directed against any country or target, said spokesman Zhang Xiaogang. According to the ministry, the aim was to test the performance of the weapons and military training. According to the army, countries affected by the missile flight were informed in advance. The ministry did not provide any further details about the type of missile or the exact test area.
The last known test of an intercontinental missile over the Pacific by China dates back to May 1980. At that time, the Dongfeng-5 missile flew more than 9,000 kilometers. However, the People’s Republic also later tested other Dongfeng (DF) missile models under different conditions, for example in August 2015 domestically, as the state-owned newspaper of the Communist Youth League reported at the time.
China expands nuclear weapons arsenal
The People’s Liberation Army’s missile force is responsible for China’s nuclear and conventional missile arsenal. Intercontinental missiles can reach thousands of kilometers and carry nuclear warheads. China is a nuclear power and has the DF-41, an intercontinental missile type that can reach up to 15,000 kilometers.
According to a report by the US Department of Defense last year, China is estimated to have more than 500 nuclear warheads and is likely to continue to expand its arsenal. This means that China still has significantly fewer nuclear warheads than the US and Russia.
Source: Stern
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