China conducts first public ICBM test launch in decades
Sept. 25 (UPI) -- China's military test-fired an intercontinental ballistic missile Wednesday morning, according to defense officials, marking its first public test of the weapon in decades.
The ICBM, carrying a dummy warhead, was launched at 8:44 a.m. local time, Beijing's Ministry of National Defense said in a statement, stating the projectile "fell into expected sea areas" of the Pacific Ocean.
"This test launch is a routine arrangement in our annual training plan," it said.
"It is in line with international law and international practice and is not directed against any country or target."
State-run news agency Xinhua reported that the launch verified the performance of the weapons and troops' training.
Concerned countries were notified in advance, it said.
Defense Minister Minoru Kihara of Japan told reporters during a press conference that they were aware of the launch, but did not state if they had been notified before hand.
"Details are being confirmed, and there is no information about damage to ships related to Japan at this time," he said. "We will continue to collect and analyze information about the trends of the Chinese military."
Despite China's characterizing of the test as routine, analysts are saying that this appears to China's first public ICBM test since May 21, 1980.
"Unless I'm missing something, I think this is essentially the first time this has happened (and been announces as such) in a long time," Ankit Panda, an international security expert at Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, said on X.
The Pentagon has said that China is building up its ICBM armory as it modernizes its military's deterrence capabilities amid growing competition with the United States.
According to a U.S. Defense Department report from October of last year, China had about 500 ICBM launchers and about 350 missiles.
It said Beijing has been constructing hundreds of new ICBM silos meant to increase the peacetime readiness of its nuclear force.
The U.S. military said last year it expects China to have more than 1,000 nuclear warheads by 2030.
A report published in June by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute stated that Beijing's stockpile was growing and that a small number of nuclear warheads may have been deployed.
China, which practices a "no first use" nuclear weapons policy, has about 500 nuclear warheads, up from 410 last year, according to the report.
The launch comes amid rising tensions in the Indo-Pacific where China has been attempting to expand its influence, predominantly through might, and North Korea continues to unveil military hardware and test new weapons.
The friction has seen the United States and its democratic allies bolster their defense posture in the region, with the Biden administration actively shoring up its military alliances with Japan and South Korea, in particular.
In July, the Pentagon announced that Washington and Tokyo had taken "historic" steps to deepen and modernize their military alliance -- part of a deterrence strategy focused on Beijing.
In August of 2023, the United States, Japan and South Korea announced a trilateral security pact.
The United States has disclosed its nuclear stockpile consists of 3,748 warheads as of the end of 2023. Russia has the most in the world at more than 4,300, according to the Federation of American Scientists.
