China successfully test-fired a ballistic missile carrying a training warhead from a nuclear submarine into the Pacific Ocean on Monday, in a rare public demonstration of its strategic military capability in a region where the United States, Australia, and New Zealand have long been the dominant security partners.
Chinese navy spokesperson Wang Xuemeng said in a statement that a People’s Liberation Army Navy strategic nuclear submarine launched the missile at 12:01pm local time. The missile accurately struck its designated target in the Pacific, he said.
Wang described the test as a routine part of China’s annual military training program and said relevant countries had been notified in advance.
Several regional countries sharply criticized the launch. Japan said it had urged China to reconsider and not proceed with the test.
A China-Russia joint naval exercise was also scheduled to begin on the same day off the coast of Qingdao, a major naval base in eastern China. It was not clear whether the missile test was linked to the exercise.
China has been rapidly expanding its nuclear capabilities and increasing its defense spending in recent years. According to the US Department of Defense, China had more than 500 operational nuclear warheads as of May 2023, a figure that could exceed 1,000 by 2030.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report