China on Monday conducted a rare test of a submarine-launched ballistic missile in the Pacific Ocean, sparking criticism from New Zealand and Australia for actions that they said threatened peace and stability in the region.

International Reaction

A People’s Liberation Army Navy submarine “launched a strategic missile carrying a dummy warhead toward relevant high seas of the Pacific Ocean, which landed precisely within the designated waters,” said a statement from Senior Capt. Wang Xuemeng, a spokesperson for the PLA Navy.

New Zealand Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters said China fired the missile on Monday into waters of the South Pacific Nuclear Free Zone, established in 1986 by the Treaty of Rarotonga. China signed protocols II and III of the pact in 1987.

Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong on Monday called the test “destabilizing to the region.”

Missile Capabilities

The PLA Navy operates two types of submarine-launched ballistic missiles, the JL-2 and the JL-3. The latter has sufficient range to reach the continental United States from waters off the coast of China, including the South China Sea, according to missile experts.

Original reporting: KRDO (Colorado Springs metro) — read the source article.