China successfully carried out a rare launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) into the Pacific Ocean, in a chilling warning shot to the West.
The missile, likely to be the Dongfeng-41 or DF-41, is China’s longest-range missile, capable of reaching speeds of up to Mach 25. The DF-41 is China’s most up-to-date ICBM and can hit a target 12,000 kilometres away – while carrying up to ten nuclear warheads.
This comes amid mounting concerns about China’s unprecedented nuclear build-up among security officials in the US and Europe
The Chinese Defence Ministry confirmed the launch, saying it was fired from a silo in Hainan and “fell into expected sea areas” in the waters near the French Polynesian islands in the South Pacific.
The ICBM launch, carrying a dummy warhead, was part of a “routine training plan”, according to the Chinese government. A spokesperson for the Defence Ministry said the test launch was not directed at any country or target, and that Beijing had “informed the countries concerned in advance”.
The DF-41 mega-missile was first publicly displayed in October 2019 during China’s 70th Anniversary National Day military parade.
The suggestion that the launch was “routine” has surprised analysts. It is rare for China to fire long-range missiles into the sea as it typically tests them unannounced in isolated areas including the deserts of Inner Mongolia. In fact, it is the first time Beijing has launched a test missile into international waters since 1980.
Drew Thompson, a former US defence official, said: “Timing is everything. This launch is a powerful signal intended to intimidate everyone.”
The senior fellow at the Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS) in Singapore believes the timing was “more strategic than tactical”.
Mr Thompson added: “[China’s] statement claims the launch does not target any country, but there are high levels of tension between China and Japan, Philippines, and of course perpetual tension with Taiwan.
“The launch is a powerful signal intended to intimidate everyone. It’s a signal that China has capabilities beyond what it has already brought to bear. It’s demonstrating that it has acted with a degree of restraint and that there are limits to its forbearance and its tolerance.”
The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Rocket Force, which oversees the country’s conventional and nuclear missiles, has been tasked with modernising China’s nuclear forces.
China is expanding its nuclear arsenal “faster than any other country” and could have as many intercontinental ballistic missiles as the US or Russia by the end of the decade, according to a report in June by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).
In a report published last year, the Pentagon estimated that China has more than 500 operational nuclear warheads in its arsenal, of which approximately 350 are ICBMs.
The report also projected that China will reach over 1,000 warheads by 2030, and revealed that China’s military is constructing hundreds of silos for land-based ICBMs.
That compares to 1,770 and 1,710 operational warheads deployed by the US and Russia, respectively.