Regional Concern After China Launches Intercontinental Ballistic Missile

By Catherine Yang

China’s Indo-Pacific neighbors expressed concern after the Chinese military on Wednesday fired an international ballistic missile (ICBM); while Beijing said through state-run media that it had given relevant neighbors advanced notice, some top officials said they were unaware.

A spokesperson for New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters told the media the missile test was “an unwelcome and concerning development.”

It was the first time in 44 years that China had launched an ICBM.

The Australian government said it has sought an explanation from China, a spokesman told media outlets.

“The launch comes in the context of China’s rapid military build-up, which is taking place without the transparency and reassurance that the region looks for from great powers,” the spokesperson said. “Australia is concerned by any action that is destabilizing and raises the risk of miscalculation in the region, and is consulting regional partners about this launch.”

Japanese government spokesperson Yoshimasa Hayashi told reporters at a press conference following the test-fire that Japan had “no advance notice.”

Hayashi said the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) had increased its military presence around Japan, citing it as a concern. Last month, a Chinese military plane breached Japanese air space in an unprecedented move.

“This Chinese military trend, with lack of its transparency, is a serious concern for Japan and the international community,” he said.

A Japan Coast Guard official said it had received a navigation warning from China on Monday for “space debris” in three zones in the South China Sea and the Pacific north of the Philippines’ Luzon island, and in the South Pacific, on Wednesday, but did not confirm if the warning was related to the missile launch.

ICBMs are nuclear-armed missiles with a range surpassing 3,500 miles, capable of striking almost any target in the world.

Last year, U.S. lawmakers confirmed the CCP now has more ICBM launchers than the United States, an increase five times faster than U.S. predictions.

The CCP has not publicly disclosed the size of its nuclear stock. The missile is a DF-41, which, according to the Center for Strategic and International Studies, is China’s longest-range missile able to travel an estimated 9,300 miles. For comparison, the distance between Shanghai and San Francisco is around 6,100 miles.

The ICBM launched Wednesday was carrying a simulated warhead, according to an official statement, and landed in the “designated sea area” near the French Polynesian islands. Beijing said the test was routine and not targeted toward any country.

The missile test coincided with the CCP’s increased military aggression in the Indo-Pacific.

Retired U.S. Navy Captain James Fanell told The Epoch Times the test sent a “clear and unambiguous signal” that the CCP was committed to a “strategic breakout” in its nuclear arsenal. This test comes as the CCP has rapidly increased its nuclear stockpile, and upgraded submarine and bomber plane development for nuclear missile compatibility.

“By every metric, the CCP is flexing its strategic muscles by expanding its nuclear arsenal and its strategic reach,” he said.

Timothy Heath, senior international defense research with RAND Corporation, told The Epoch Times there was a domestic message being sent as well. He noted the launch comes after scandals over corruption in the People’s Liberation Army Rocket Force (PLARF) that resulted in a purge among its top brass.

“The test was an opportunity for the PLARF to restore its credibility with China’s leadership,” he said. He added that it was also meant to signal to the world that PLARF remained capable despite the scandals.

Manoj Kewalramani, fellow for China studies and the chair of the Indo-Pacific Studies Programme at the Takshashila Institution, told The Epoch Times the test seemed like a rushed effort, and believes it could be intended to change the narrative among Chinese.

“Clearly economic stress is mounting in China and there are signs of friction,” he said. There has also been tension with Chinese thought leaders publicly criticizing the economy, he added. “The sudden test could be a product of a desire to shift the discourse through capability demonstration.”

John Ciociari, dean of the Hamilton Lugar School of Global and International Studies at Indiana University, said a “test of this kind has domestic, regional, and global audiences.”

“Within China, it supports a nationalist narrative about the government’s competence and resolve. Regionally, it is part of a broader effort to discourage China’s neighbors from challenging Beijing on Taiwan or other flashpoints. To global audiences, the test may seek to amplify perceptions that China is gaining rapidly on the United States in military power and technological prowess,” he told The Epoch Times.

Fanell also said this “put to bed the notion that the PLA Strategic Rocket Force is rife with corruption and disloyalty to General Secretary Xi,” but disagreed with Heath that the goal was only deterrence and viewed the test as evidence that the nuclear disarmament talks between the United States and CCP have been “toothless.”

These actions run counter to the CCP’s public statements and diplomatic talks, Fanell explained.

“Most worrisome is that this activity comes just days after the Commander of the PLA’s Southern Theater Command, General Wu Yanan, attended the Indo-Pacific Command’s Chiefs of Defense conference in Honolulu—a meeting that was said to help cool tensions between Beijing and Washington,” Fanell said.

“This test demonstrates the CCP has both the intent and capability to attack the American homeland with nuclear weapons—something PRC military officials have talked about doing for over 20 years,” he said, using the acronym for the People’s Republic of China, the official name of China under the rule of the CCP.

Reuters contributed to this report.