China has carried out its first known test of an intercontinental ballistic missile in international air space for more than four decades, firing a dummy warhead into the Pacific “high seas”, its defence ministry said on Wednesday.
The ministry said the test was part of “routine annual exercises” but it came as a surprise to international observers.
Military tensions with the United States, which have been rising for years, were thought to have been put on hold after a visit last week by a senior Chinese military official to meet his American counterpart in Hawaii.
But President Xi has ordered his military, which is in the middle of a widespread corruption scandal, to clean up its act and upgrade its nuclear missile arsenal.
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