China’s navy said it successfully conducted a test missile launch in the Pacific Ocean on Monday, after nations in the region warned that Beijing was planning to test an intercontinental ballistic missile.
“At 12:01 pm on July 6, a strategic nuclear submarine of China’s People’s Liberation Army Navy successfully launched a… strategic missile carrying a training simulation warhead into the relevant high seas of the Pacific Ocean, accurately landing in the designated sea area,” spokesperson Wang Xuemeng said in a statement posted on a navy WeChat account.
“This missile test launch is a routine arrangement of China’s annual military training, and relevant countries were informed in advance,” Wang said.
The launch came on the same day that China and Russia were due to begin their annual joint naval exercises off Qingdao, a major military port and seaside resort in China’s east.
It was not immediately clear if the missile launch was part of those drills.
