A Chinese submarine test-fired a "strategic" missile carrying a dummy warhead into the Pacific Ocean on Monday, Beijing said, prompting immediate condemnation from nations in the region.
Issued on: 08/07/2026 - 14:56Modified: 08/07/2026 - 14:56
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“It’s the first known submarine-based missile test since 1982,” according to Professor Michael Dillon, a China specialist affiliated with the Lau China Institute at London’s King’s College, and "the first ever from a nuclear-powered submarine." According to Dillon, Beijing wants to demonstrate that "the Chinese Navy is here and it is in a position to fire missiles." China’s state-controlled People’s Daily called the launch a “routine arrangement of the annual training of the PLA Navy." But Australia’s PM Anthony Albanese, on a visit to the Solomon Islands called it a "provocative act by China which does destabilise the region,” during a joint press conference with the Solomon’s PM Mathew Wale, who remarked that he launched a “strong protest" with the Chinese ambassador. The US State Department expressed concern. According to the Japan Times, Tokyo had “strongly urged” China to refrain from the test prior to the launch, and on Wednesday, Tuvalu Prime Minister Feleti Teo on condemned the test near its waters. Clive Hamilton, the Australia-based author of Hidden Hand, a book that describes China’s growing influence around the world, points out that the missile launch comes immediately after Australia signed a mutual defence pact with Fiji. "China is afraid that its push to gain more influence in and over Pacific nations is facing serious pushback,” he told RFI. “This missile test has the appearance of a deliberate rebuke to Pacific Island states and Australia for undertaking more systematic military and economic cooperation,” he says.
