China has demonstrated its growing military capabilities by test-launching a long-range, nuclear-capable ballistic missile from one of its nuclear-powered submarines into the South Pacific. According to state-run news agency Xinhua, a submarine belonging to the People's Liberation Army (PLA) Navy launched the missile, carrying a dummy warhead, into international waters in the Pacific on Monday. The test marks only the third time Beijing has publicly acknowledged conducting such a launch, following similar announcements in 1980 and 2024, and has drawn attention across the Indo-Pacific region.
"The test launch complies with international law and international practice, and is not directed at any specific country or target," Xinhua quoted the PLA as saying. The report added that the Chinese Navy had informed "relevant countries" before carrying out the launch.
According to Xinhua, the dummy warhead landed accurately within the designated impact zone identified in advance. Reuters reported that Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said the launch was conducted "safely, in a standardised and professional manner throughout" and urged other countries "not to over-interpret the matter."
Despite these assurances, the missile test generated concern across the Indo-Pacific. Several countries criticised the short notice provided by Beijing, while broader anxieties stemmed from China's strategic posture and longstanding territorial disputes with its neighbours. Although ballistic missile tests are not uncommon among nuclear powers, the latest launch has renewed regional security concerns.
What missile did China launch?
China has not officially disclosed the type of missile used in the test.
However, the state-run tabloid Global Times, citing a military expert, reported that the missile was likely the JL-3, China's most advanced submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM), which made its public debut during a military parade last year.
Taiwan's National Security Council Secretary-General Joseph Wu, however, claimed on X that China had launched a JL-2 submarine-launched ballistic missile.
"The PRC tested a JL2 SLBM flying over the Philippines moments ago. It's a provocation that destabilises the Indo-Pacific. China just proved itself again to be a bully on the block," Wu wrote.
Why did China's neighbours express concern?
According to Reuters, Australia, New Zealand and Japan said they were informed of the missile launch only a few hours before it took place. They also pointed out that the missile was fired into the South Pacific Nuclear Free Zone, established under the 1986 Treaty of Rarotonga, which prohibits nuclear weapons in the region. China ratified the treaty's protocols in 1987, committing not to test or threaten the use of nuclear weapons within the zone.
New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters criticised the short notice provided by Beijing.
"It appears that despite our long-standing concerns about this type of activity, China carried out the test within hours of informing us," Peters said in a statement quoted by The Associated Press.
Reuters also quoted Peters as saying, "We, like our neighbours in other Pacific countries, have no interest in China using the South Pacific as a testing site for missile capability."
Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong described the launch as destabilising.
"Australia has been clear with China that we regard this as destabilising to the region," Wong said while speaking to reporters in Fiji, where she was signing a mutual defence agreement aimed at strengthening regional security cooperation.
Japan also voiced concern, urging Beijing to reconsider such activities.
"China's military activities, combined with its lack of transparency, have become a grave concern for Japan and the international community," Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara said, according to AP.
US criticises China's expanding nuclear programme
The United States also criticised the missile launch, arguing that it highlighted concerns surrounding China's expanding nuclear arsenal.
US State Department spokesperson Thomas Pigott said that while Washington continued to work towards preventing nuclear proliferation, Beijing was moving in the opposite direction.
"Beijing's rapid and opaque nuclear weapons build-up is of great concern to the region and the world," Pigott said, according to AP.
He added that the United States would continue urging China to engage in meaningful arms-control discussions and adopt a more transparent notification mechanism for intercontinental ballistic missile and space launches.
China's strategic posture and territorial disputes
China's military modernisation is often viewed alongside its increasingly assertive foreign policy and territorial claims.
Beijing has longstanding maritime disputes with several neighbouring countries over the South China Sea, where its "nine-dash line" overlaps with the exclusive economic zones of Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei.
On land, China's annexation of Tibet in 1951 fundamentally altered its border dynamics with India, leading to decades of unresolved boundary disputes and multiple military stand-offs.
These territorial disputes have contributed to perceptions among many neighbouring countries that China is pursuing an increasingly assertive regional strategy, making developments such as ballistic missile tests particularly sensitive.
Why is a submarine-launched missile test significant?
Although China has not explained the specific objective of the latest launch, a 2024 Pentagon report suggested that similar submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) tests were likely intended to simulate wartime nuclear deterrence operations during peacetime while validating China's ability to deliver nuclear weapons over their full operational range.
The test comes as China continues to expand both its conventional and nuclear military capabilities. According to the Washington-based Nuclear Threat Initiative, China currently operates six ballistic missile submarines and numerous nuclear-powered attack submarines.
In its 2025 report to the US Congress on China's military capabilities, the Pentagon estimated that Beijing possessed approximately 600 nuclear warheads in 2024 and remained on course to expand that number beyond 1,000 by 2030.
Separately, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) reported that China increased its deployed nuclear warheads from 24 in 2024 to 34 in 2025.
While the exact missile used remains unconfirmed, reports suggest it was either the JL-2 or the more advanced JL-3. The JL-2 is estimated to have a range of around 7,200 kilometres, while the JL-3 is believed to have a range of approximately 10,000 kilometres, enabling it to reach parts of the continental United States from Chinese coastal waters.
Submarine-launched ballistic missiles play a critical role in a country's nuclear deterrence because they provide a credible second-strike capability. Unlike fixed land-based missile systems or aircraft, ballistic missile submarines are far more difficult to detect and track, allowing them to survive a potential first strike and launch retaliatory nuclear attacks if required.
The latest launch also reinforces China's status as a country possessing a fully operational nuclear triad—the ability to deliver nuclear weapons through land-based missiles, strategic bombers and submarine-launched ballistic missiles. Besides China, only the United States, Russia, the United Kingdom, France and India currently maintain operational nuclear triad capabilities.
While the missile test underscores China's expanding strategic capabilities, it has also renewed concerns across the Indo-Pacific, where Beijing's growing military reach and increasingly assertive regional posture continue to draw close scrutiny.
