Why Did China Test-fire an ICBM Into the South Pacific?

Denny Roy

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A brief statement by the Ministry of National Defense in Beijing called China’s September 25 test launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) into the South Pacific Ocean near Tahiti “routine.” That description is cynical in its dishonesty. China’s actual “routine” is to test its missiles within or near its territory, such as Xinjiang or the Bohai Sea. The last time China fired a missile into international waters was in 1980.

The Defense Ministry’s statement also said the test launch was “not directed against any country or target.” That’s possible. Beijing’s motivation for this test launch might not have been the desire to send a political signal, but rather a need for technical data.

Testing is a normal and necessary part of missile development. The United States, for example, test-launched two unarmed ICBMs from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California in June. Perhaps Chinese missile engineers wanted to see how the missile performed on a depressed trajectory over a long distance, and firing it into the South Pacific Ocean was the most convenient direction in terms of deploying data collection assets and avoiding some other country’s national territory. That would be a simple explanation for why the Chinese government denied that the test had political significance.