China conducts rare intercontinental ballistic missile test in Pacific

China carried out a rare intercontinental ballistic missile test in the Pacific on Wednesday, September 25, its Ministry of Defense announced. If no link is made to current events, this launch takes place against a backdrop of Sino-American rivalry in the Pacific, tensions between Beijing and Manila in the South China Sea and hostility between Chinese authorities and those of Taiwan.

No details were given about where the missile landed. The ministry also did not specify whether the projectile was launched from a submarine or from land. Intercontinental ballistic missiles are among the most powerful weapons in the world and can deliver devastating nuclear warheads.

“The Rocket Force of the People’s Liberation Army [armée chinoise] Successfully launched on September 25 at 8:44 am [heure locale, 2 h 44, heure de Paris], an intercontinental ballistic missile carrying a simulated training warhead was launched offshore in the Pacific Ocean. It fell precisely within the predetermined maritime zone.”the Chinese ministry reported. “This missile launch is part of Rocket Force’s routine annual training program.”he “complies with international law and practice and does not target any specific country or objective”He also clarified.

New Zealand described this test as “inappropriate and [de] worrying »and pledged to consult with allies as details become known. “We continue to gather additional information”a spokesman for New Zealand’s foreign ministry told Agence France-Presse (AFP).

Japan was not warned by China about this test, the Japanese government spokesman stressed. The rapid build-up of Chinese military power and its lack of transparency constitute a “serious concern”he added.

Execrable Beijing-Taipei relations

China usually conducts such tests in its own airspace, Ankit Panda, a researcher at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, a US think tank, told AFP. “This is extremely unusual and probably the first time in decades that we have seen such a test.”pointed out. this test “It probably reflects China’s ongoing nuclear modernization, manifested in new testing needs.”estimated.

According to a report by the US Department of Defense published in October 2023, China is developing its nuclear weapons arsenal very rapidly. It stated that the Asian giant could have more than 1,000 operational warheads by 2030, twice as many as it has today. China denounced these conclusions. It had reaffirmed that its nuclear arsenal, modest compared to that of the United States, is used solely for its own purposes. “self-defense”The Asian giant has always pledged to never use a nuclear bomb first unless it is itself attacked by one.

According to data available in 2023, the United States had 3,708 nuclear warheads and Russia 4,489, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), which counted 410 for China.

Beijing and Washington are locked in an intense struggle for influence in the Pacific. The United States periodically sends warships to the South China Sea to thwart Beijing’s territorial claims, but also close to Taiwan to support local leaders there. China regards the island as one of its provinces, which it has failed to reunite with the rest of its territory since the end of the Chinese civil war in 1949.

Relations between Beijing and Taipei have been abysmal since 2016, with the arrival of Tsai Ing-wen as president of the island, followed by her successor Lai Ching-te in May 2024, both of whom are generally in favour of more relaxed relations between Taiwan and mainland China.

China also claims sovereignty over numerous reefs and islets in the South China Sea (claimed in particular by Vietnam and the Philippines), over the Senkaku Islands (controlled by Japan) in the East China Sea, as well as over territories in the Himalayas (which it disputes with India).