China conducted a rare test of a submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) in the Pacific Ocean on Monday. New Zealand and Australia have expressed concern over the event, stating that such actions threaten peace and stability in the region.
Senior Captain Wang Xuemeng, a spokesperson for the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy, stated that a strategic missile was launched from a PLA submarine. The missile carried a dummy warhead rather than a live one and struck a designated area in international waters in the Pacific with precision.
Wang noted that the test was a routine part of China’s annual military training program and that relevant nations had been notified beforehand.
The Chinese military official asserted that the test was conducted in accordance with international law and established norms and was not directed at any specific country or target.
CNN contacted China’s Ministry of Defense for comment, but the country declined to disclose the specific type of missile tested.
The Chinese Navy currently possesses two types of submarine-launched ballistic missiles: the JL-2 and the JL-3. Missile experts state that the JL-3 has sufficient range to reach the US mainland if launched from waters near the Chinese coast, including the South China Sea.
China’s primary ballistic missile submarines are the Type 094, or “Jin” class; the country currently operates six of these vessels.
Beijing rarely discloses information regarding its missile tests. However, according to data from the Missile Defense Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), a Washington-based think tank, the JL-3 missile underwent its first test in 2018, followed by another test a year later. ‘Concerning and Unwelcome’
New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters stated that the missile launched by China today (Monday) landed within the waters of the South Pacific Nuclear-Free Zone, established under the 1986 Treaty of Rarotonga. China signed the second and third protocols of this treaty in 1987.
Under the treaty’s second protocol, signatory nations are prohibited from using or threatening to use nuclear weapons against any country or territory within the zone. The third protocol bans the testing of nuclear weapons in the region.
Peters said, “Earlier today, China informed us that it would launch a long-range ballistic missile towards the South Pacific.”
He added, “New Zealand views this event as unwelcome and concerning. Like other nations in the Pacific region, we do not want China using the South Pacific as a testing ground for its missile capabilities.”
Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong described China’s test as a “threat to the stability of the region.”
Wong stated that the missile test must be evaluated in the context of China’s rapid military expansion and the lack of sufficient transparency and assurances regarding it. However, she noted that it is up to China to explain its intentions.
Winston Peters remarked that this latest test by China recalls events from 2024, when the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) also conducted a test of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) in the region.
Peters said, “Such tests are becoming a normal or regular occurrence. As a nation in this region, we cannot simply sit by and watch.”
Missile testing is neither new nor unusual for nuclear-armed nations.
For instance, in September of last year, the US Navy tested four ballistic missiles capable of being launched from Trident submarines off the coast of Florida. Last December, India also conducted a test of a submarine-launched ballistic missile, while Russia tested a similar missile last October.
As part of an overall effort to bolster its nuclear capabilities, China is also expanding its fleet of nuclear-powered submarines.
China conducted its most recent intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) test in the Pacific Ocean in September 2024. The nuclear-capable DF-31B missile, launched from Hainan Island in the South China Sea, landed in the open waters of the Pacific near French Polynesia. This marked China’s first ICBM test in the open ocean in 44 years.
A report by the US Department of Defense states that China typically conducts missile tests within its own territory. The report notes that in December 2024, multiple ICBMs were launched in quick succession from a training base in the country’s western region. This demonstrated a capability to launch multiple silo-based ICBMs within a short timeframe; a “silo” refers to an underground missile launch structure.
A report on China’s military power released by the US Department of Defense in December 2025 states that the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) views such missile tests as an “alternative for medium- to high-level nuclear deterrence operations.”
