US Leads International Outcry After China Test-fires 8,000-KM Missile Into Pacific
New Delhi: The United States led global condemnation over China's nuclear program after Beijing test-launched an unarmed, intercontinental-range strategic ballistic missile into the southern Pacific Ocean on Monday.
The missile, widely believed by experts to be the JL-3 submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM), carried a simulated dummy warhead and flew an estimated 8,000+ km, showcasing Beijing's ability to target the continental United States directly from its home coastal waters.
us-voices-concern-over-chinas-intercontinental-range-missile-test
Chinese missile trajectory as shared by Joseph Wu, Taiwan Secretary-General, Taiwan National Security Council. (X@josephwutw)
Monday's test came two years after China fired an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) into the waters near French Polynesia, in what had been the first launch of such a missile over international waters in more than 40 years.
Analysts, as reported by AFP, said the test demonstrated China's growing capacity to strike the mainland United States, which sees the Asian power as its top adversary despite a reconciliation drive under President Donald Trump.
"At a time when the United States is working harder than ever to prevent nuclear proliferation, China is doing the opposite," State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott said. "Beijing's rapid and opaque nuclear weapons buildup is of great concern to the region and the world," he said in a statement.
In February, the US allowed New START, the last major arms control pact with Russia, to expire, as it insisted on a new agreement that also includes China. The overtures have been rebuffed by China, whose nuclear arsenal is much smaller than Russia's but has been rapidly growing.
The State Department urged China to "engage in meaningful arms control discussions and commit to a regularised notification arrangement for all intercontinental-range ballistic missile and space launches."
'A Bully On The Block'
Taiwan, the self-governing democracy claimed by China, identified the missile as a JL-2. Joseph Wu, the secretary general of Taiwan's National Security Council, said that the missile went over the Philippines and accused China of destabilising the region.
The missile, widely believed by experts to be the JL-3 submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM), carried a simulated dummy warhead and flew an estimated 8,000+ km, showcasing Beijing's ability to target the continental United States directly from its home coastal waters.
us-voices-concern-over-chinas-intercontinental-range-missile-test
Chinese missile trajectory as shared by Joseph Wu, Taiwan Secretary-General, Taiwan National Security Council. (X@josephwutw)
Monday's test came two years after China fired an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) into the waters near French Polynesia, in what had been the first launch of such a missile over international waters in more than 40 years.
Analysts, as reported by AFP, said the test demonstrated China's growing capacity to strike the mainland United States, which sees the Asian power as its top adversary despite a reconciliation drive under President Donald Trump.
"At a time when the United States is working harder than ever to prevent nuclear proliferation, China is doing the opposite," State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott said. "Beijing's rapid and opaque nuclear weapons buildup is of great concern to the region and the world," he said in a statement.
In February, the US allowed New START, the last major arms control pact with Russia, to expire, as it insisted on a new agreement that also includes China. The overtures have been rebuffed by China, whose nuclear arsenal is much smaller than Russia's but has been rapidly growing.
The State Department urged China to "engage in meaningful arms control discussions and commit to a regularised notification arrangement for all intercontinental-range ballistic missile and space launches."
'A Bully On The Block'
Taiwan, the self-governing democracy claimed by China, identified the missile as a JL-2. Joseph Wu, the secretary general of Taiwan's National Security Council, said that the missile went over the Philippines and accused China of destabilising the region.