Euan Graham, an Indo-Pacific security expert and senior analyst at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, said both the launch and the authorities’ acknowledgment of it were “unusual”.
The launch is the first time in over four decades that China is known to have successfully conducted an atmospheric test of an ICBM.
The first test of a Chinese ICBM took place in May 1980, when a DF-5 flew more than 5,500 miles. Since then, most of China’s nuclear weapons tests have been conducted underground.
“Above all, it highlights that China is not subject to any arms control restraints on nuclear weapons and is now in a period of unrestricted strategic competition,” said Dr Graham.
“From an Australian/Pacific Islands point of view, it’s a pointer to China’s strategic interests directly impacting the Pacific region.”
Few details are known about the latest test, including the path of the missile, where exactly it had fallen, or which countries were informed in advance.
China’s most up-to-date ICBM is the DF-41, which came into service in 2017 and which has an operational range of up to 7,460-9,320 miles, capable of reaching the US mainland.