The Kremlin today defended a missile test, without a nuclear payload, carried out by China, Moscow’s main ally, in the Pacific Ocean, which was criticized by several countries in the region.
“It is a sovereign right of China to test its missiles (…). China threatens no one in the world,” declared Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov in response to a question from AFP during his daily press conference.
Australia classified the launch as “destabilizing for the region” because it occurred just hours after the signing of a major defense treaty between Australia and the Fiji islands.
Peskov also guaranteed that the annual naval exercises started today by the Chinese and Russian navies off Qingdao, an important military port and seaside resort in eastern China, do not represent a threat to “any State in the region.”
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China carried out a test today with a strategic ballistic missile launched from a nuclear submarine into Pacific waters, an operation that Beijing classified as routine, but which prompted criticism from Japan, Australia, and New Zealand.
The missile, equipped with a simulated training warhead, was launched at 12:01 local time (05:01 in Lisbon) and precisely hit the predicted maritime zone, the official Chinese news agency Xinhua reported.
According to the state agency, the test was part of the annual training plan of the Chinese Armed Forces, was previously communicated to the relevant countries, and “is not directed against any specific country or target,” adding that it took place in compliance with international law and practices.
Xinhua indicated only that the launch was carried out by a strategic nuclear submarine of the People’s Liberation Army Navy into “relevant international waters” of the Pacific, without revealing the type of missile, the class of the submarine, or the exact location of the impact.
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According to the Hong Kong newspaper South China Morning Post, this is the first known test of a missile launched from a Chinese submarine since 1982 and the first carried out from a nuclear-powered submarine.
The test also occurs after the worsening of relations between Beijing and Tokyo, marked by new Chinese restrictions on the export of dual-use products to Japanese entities and by protests from Japan due to the presence of Chinese ships near Yonaguni Island, about 150 kilometers from Taiwan.
The test also coincides with preparations for new joint naval exercises between China and Russia, scheduled to take place this month in Chinese waters and airspace, followed by joint maritime patrols in areas of the Pacific.
