The test launch was “routine” and a part of the ICMB’s “annual training,” according to Beijing’s defense ministry. The spacecraft was launched on Wednesday at 08:44 local time (04:44 GMT) and “fell into expected sea areas.”
Although the sort of missile and its trajectory were still unknown, Beijing had “informed the countries concerned in advance,” according to Chinese state media.
Analysts noted that Beijing’s designation of the test as “routine” was unexpected given that the last one took place in 1980.
China has tested nuclear weapons mostly at home, although it has also fired intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) into the Taklamakan Desert in the Xinjiang province to the west.
Thus, it is thought that this is the first time an ICBM has been launched into international waters since 1980.
The announcement of this event on X was made for the first time in a long time, unless I’m missing something, according to Ankit Panda, a nuclear weapons analyst at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
“Given that they don’t do this sort of thing either routinely or annually,” he continued, Beijing’s designation of the test as “routine” and “annual” seemed peculiar.
As of early Wednesday afternoon, no damage had been reported to Japan’s boats, according to the ministry of defense.
“We will keep gathering and analyzing data regarding the movements of the Chinese military and will implement all appropriate safety measures.”
