Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi urged Australia to give up “double standards” and join efforts to maintain the momentum of improving bilateral ties, as Canberra voiced concerns over Beijing’s military development and a recent missile test. In a meeting with Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong on Tuesday, Wang said Canberra and Beijing should address differences on the basis of mutual respect and equality. “Both sides should seek common ground while managing disagreements and foster a...
Pacific island nations are facing a security challenge in responding to China’s recent missile launch near Tuvalu and keeping their vision of a region as an “ocean of peace”, as analysts say the diverse nature of their ties with Beijing is complicating efforts towards a united response. On July 6, China said one of its navy’s nuclear submarines launched a “strategic missile” carrying a dummy warhead towards “relevant high seas of the Pacific Ocean”, describing the test as routine annual military...
China successfully tested an intercontinental-range submarine-launched ballistic missile on July 6, firing it from a nuclear-powered submarine and joining an elite club that includes the United States, Russia, Britain and France. These five nations are also the permanent members of the UN Security Council. Analysts believe the missile was fired from China’s Type 094 Jin-class nuclear-powered submarine armed with ballistic missiles (SSBN). Submarines in this category which have proven...
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met his Solomon Islands counterpart on Tuesday, pledging to deepen ties and reaffirming Beijing’s unconditional support for Honiara while rejecting “third-party interference”, soon after a Chinese missile test sparked protests across the Pacific. Solomons Foreign Minister Rick Houenipwela’s visit to China began at a sensitive juncture on Friday, coming just days after the ballistic missile was test-fired from a nuclear-powered submarine on July 6. The test, which...
On July 6, a Chinese strategic nuclear submarine fired a missile carrying a training dummy warhead into a designated area of the Pacific. Beijing described the launch as routine, said relevant countries had been notified and insisted that it targeted no state. The regional reaction was immediate, with Australia, Japan, the United States and Pacific nations raising concerns around insufficient notification and the politics of nuclear-free zones. Those reactions matter because they show how far...
Kim Jong-un stood on a cliff top and watched his navy come of age. As the North Korean leader looked on, 10 cruise missiles tore off the deck of the Kang Kon in rapid succession in a display of naval power Pyongyang could once only dream of staging. Analysts say the weapons test on Friday was no accident of timing – coming just days before Russia and China would begin their Joint Sea 2026 maritime exercise off Qingdao – and North Korea wanted to make sure everyone was watching. “North Korea is...
Countries raise concerns after Chinese military test-launches ballistic missile from submarine in the Pacific Ocean.
A nuclear-powered People’s Liberation Army submarine fired a test missile on the high seas in the Pacific on Monday, according to Chinese state media. The dummy warhead was fired at 12.01pm, state news agency Xinhua said. It added that it was a routine test and was not aimed at any specific country or target. The report said that relevant countries had been notified ahead of time. The test was China’s first known submarine-based missile test since 1982, and the first known to have been fired...