China claims successful test of intercontinental ballistic missile

China's Defense Ministry said in a statement that an ICBM carrying a dummy warhead was launched at 8:44 a.m. Beijing time and landed in a designated area in international waters of the Pacific Ocean.

The ministry said the People's Liberation Army Rocket Force launch was part of routine training and was not aimed at any country or target. The launch came as China and Russia are conducting joint naval exercises.

DF-41 intercontinental ballistic missiles during a military parade marking the 70th anniversary of the founding of China on October 1, 2019 in Beijing. Photo: Getty

According to the Xinhua news agency, China "had notified relevant countries in advance". The launch "effectively tested the performance of weapons and equipment as well as the training level of the military, and achieved the expected goals".

This is the first time China has publicly announced an ICBM test in the Pacific in more than four decades. In 1980, China successfully launched its first ICBM, the DF-5. Launched from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China, the missile flew more than 8,000 kilometers into the South Pacific that year.

Since then, China is believed to have continued to conduct more ICBM tests, most of them on its own territory, with many landing in China's westernmost deserts.

In December 2013, a Chinese Defense Ministry spokesman was asked at a regular press conference about a submarine-launched ICBM test in the Bohai Sea, northeast China. The spokesman replied: "It is normal for China to conduct scientific research experiments within its own territory as planned."

China's latest ICBM, known as the DF-41, is estimated to have a range of 12,000 to 15,000 kilometers. The US Department of Defense predicts that the number of nuclear warheads in Beijing's arsenal will increase exponentially over the next decade.

In its annual report on Beijing's military last year, the Pentagon said China would possess more than 500 operational nuclear warheads by 2023 and could have more than 1,000 by 2030.

Huy Hoang (according to Xinhua News Agency, CNN, AP)

Source: https://www.congluan.vn/trung-quoc-tuyen-bo-thu-nghiem-thanh-cong-ten-lua-dan-dao-xuyen-luc-dia-post313941.html