HONG KONG
\nChina\u2019s submarine-fired ballistic missile test into the southern Pacific on Monday gave its military leadership an opportunity to examine some of the most complex and sensitive operations of its \u200bevolving nuclear deterrent, analysts and diplomats say.
\nCommanding, controlling and communicating with nuclear-armed submarines attempting to operate undetected pose immense challenges, they say – something felt acutely by a Chinese Communist \u200cParty leadership where the military\u2019s political loyalty is paramount.
\n\u201cThis aspect is certainly something that would have been very much evaluated, besides looking at the actual technical capabilities of the missile and submarine,\u201d said Collin Koh, a security scholar at Singapore\u2019s S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies.
\n\u201cThere are still challenges ahead but it would seem they are getting close to an operational strike capability here…they are probably trying to demonstrate that even if they can\u2019t get into a position to hit the continental U.S., they \u200bcould still target Guam and Hawaii.\u201d
\nChina\u2019s test firing of the missile armed with a dummy warhead drew criticism from regional powers, with the U.S. saying it was an intercontinental ballistic missile that landed \u200bin the southern Pacific Ocean.
\nChinese state media and officials described the test as a \u201croutine\u201d military drill that was not directed at a specific target or country, and was handled professionally.
\nDismissing some reports as \u201cpure distortion and hype\u201d, the Chinese defence ministry said in response to Reuters\u2019 questions on Friday that the test was made in accordance with international law and practice.
\n\u201cIt should be \u200bemphasized that China\u2019s efforts to modernize its nuclear forces are intended to safeguard national strategic security and maintain global strategic stability,\u201d the defence ministry said.
\nIt was China\u2019s most significant long-range ballistic missile test since September 2024, when \u200bthe People\u2019s Liberation Army fired a weapon into the southern Pacific Ocean from a mobile launcher on Hainan Island in the South China Sea.
\nCHINA\u2019S SUBMARINES KEY TO NUCLEAR STRATEGY
\nMonday\u2019s missile was fired from one of China\u2019s six Type-094 nuclear-powered submarines known as SSBNs, said analysts and academics. State media said it was a strategic missile submarine (SSBN), but did not identify the class. An SSBN is a large nuclear-powered submarine designed to launch nuclear-armed intercontinental ballistic missiles.
\nRegional military attaches and analysts say China\u2019s SSBN \u200boperations, based out of Hainan Island, are among the most closely watched elements of its ongoing military modernisation, given their importance to China\u2019s nuclear deterrent to ensure a second-strike capability.
\nIf its nuclear-armed submarines can operate undetected, \u200bChina can strike back if its more extensive land-based weapons are destroyed in a first strike by an adversary. This is widely seen as a particularly important factor for Beijing, which still maintains an official policy that it would \u200cnot be the \u2060first to use nuclear weapons in a conflict.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
HONG KONG China\u2019s submarine-fired ballistic missile test into the southern Pacific on Monday gave its military leadership an opportunity to examine some of the most complex and sensitive operations of its \u200bevolving nuclear deterrent, analysts and diplomats say. Commanding, controlling and communicating with nuclear-armed submarines attempting to operate undetected pose immense challenges, they say – […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":555816,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-555804","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-world"],"yoast_head":"\n