Decoding China's rare missile test: A show of force to intimidate US and its allies or a routine drill?

The Chinese military, on Wednesday, test-fired an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) with a dummy warhead in the Pacific Ocean.

The test comes as missile activities have been ratcheting up in the Asia-Pacific region, and amid rising tensions with the US and its allies.

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According to the Chinese defence ministry, the launch tested weaponry performance and military training effectiveness and achieved desired goals.

The missile fell into expected sea areas, the statement said, adding that this was a routine arrangement in the annual training plan and relevant countries had been notified in advance.

Geo-intelligence researcher Damien Symon, in a tweet, said, “available public data mapped shows danger zones almost as close as 90-km to the Philippines were announced by China as a part of this test.”

Even as China claimed that this was a routine arrangement as part of its annual training plan, it is the first time in four decades that China publicly announced an intercontinental ballistic missile test in the Pacific Ocean. Nonetheless, the type of missile that was tested and its flight path are shrouded in mystery.

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Meanwhile, a nuclear weapons specialist at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Ankit Panda, in a tweet, claimed that given that China does not do this kind of test annually, its description of the test as "routine" and "annual" was odd.

Drew Thompson, a defence expert, said the test is a "powerful signal intended to intimidate everyone."

“China launches a lot of missiles. They don’t announce a lot of them. It’s interesting that they would choose now,” CNN quoted Thompson as saying.

"Timing is everything. The PLA statement claims the launch does not target any country, but there are high-levels of tension between China and Japan, Philippines, and of course perpetual tension with Taiwan.

This launch is a powerful signal intended to intimidate everyone," he wrote in a tweet.