China successfully conducts ballistic missile test launch in the Pacific

Australia and New Zealand have sounded the alarm after China confirmed it successfully tested a submarine-launched ballistic missile carried by a strategic nuclear submarine in international waters in the Pacific Ocean.

Chinese state media Xinhua reported that the testing is part of China's annual military exercise, and it has alerted relevant countries in advance, in accordance with international law and rules.

China has no specific countries targeted and goals behind today's test, Xinhua said.

This comes after Australia and Fiji signed a major defence alliance earlier in the day, committing each country to come to the other's aid in case either is attacked.

Foreign Minister Penny Wong said the Australian government had been advised in advance by China of the test.

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"Australia has been clear with China that we regard this as destabilising to the region," she told reporters on Monday, moments before the launch was confirmed.

"This proposed test is in the context of a rapid military buildup by China, which is lacking in the transparency and reassurance as to intent that the region expects."

Wong said the test was "inconsistent" with Pacific leaders' requests for the ocean to be one "of peace".

That statement was echoed by New Zealand foreign minister Winston Peters.

"It appears that, despite our long-standing concerns about this type of activity, China carried out the test within hours of informing us," he said in a statement.

"The Pacific is an Ocean of Peace and we are deeply concerned by China's testing of nuclear-capable weapons into the South Pacific."

The Sydney Morning Herald and The Australian newspapers both earlier reported that Chinese officials briefed regional governments, including Australia, about an upcoming intercontinental ballistic missile test in the Pacific.

The Chinese embassy in Australia did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

China last tested an intercontinental ballistic missile in 2024, a rare event that highlighted the country's increasing military capabilities.

Data from Starboard Maritime Intelligence, a New Zealand ship tracking company, showed three Chinese satellite-tracking vessels positioned throughout the Pacific.

Two vessels left China around 25 June and currently sit near the Federated States of Micronesia. The third departed China in early May and is currently at harbour in Fiji's capital, Suva.

— With additional reporting by Reuters news agency.

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