New Delhi: China’s test-firing of a long-range ballistic missile from a nuclear-powered submarine Monday has triggered alarm at a time when Australia is racing to deepen security ties with Pacific island nations and India expanding its strategic partnership with Indonesia.
The Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy launched the missile, which carried a dummy warhead, toward international waters at 9:31am IST, in what Chinese state media Xinhua described as its first publicly acknowledged test of this kind. The launch was a “routine part of China’s annual military programme,” it reported.A separate Xinhua report stated that Beijing had notified “countries concerned” in advance, though the article did not disclose the missile’s flight path or specify where it landed in the “high seas of the Pacific Ocean.”
“The related launch activity was conducted in a safe, regulated, and professional manner,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said at a briefing in Beijing after the launch. “We hope relevant countries will not over-interpret the matter.”
The Chinese PLA Navy's test launch of a strategic missile by a submarine was a routine arrangement of China’s annual military training.It was not targeted at any specific country or target. China notified relevant countries in advance, which is in line with international… pic.twitter.com/xLZeucqOTm— China Military Bugle (@ChinaMilBugle) July 6, 2026
