China downplayed nuclear-capable missile test: classified NZ govt papers
China tried to mislead foreign governments in 2024 by playing down the importance of a nuclear-capable missile test over the Pacific Ocean, New Zealand diplomats privately warned in documents obtained by AFP.
Beijing sent shivers through the South Pacific in September 2024, when its elite Rocket Force fired a dummy warhead into the high seas near French Polynesia.
A tranche of classified government briefing notes obtained by AFP shows deep concern within the New Zealand government in the wake of the surprise launch, which China shrugged off as "routine".
It was China's first long-range missile launch over international waters in more than 40 years, the papers confirmed, serving as a blunt reminder of Beijing's potent nuclear-strike capabilities.
"We are concerned that China is characterising this as a 'routine test'," senior diplomats wrote in a memo to New Zealand's foreign affairs minister.
"It is not routine: China has not conducted this type of long-range missile test in over 40 years.
"We do not want to see this test repeated."
China's military played down the test as a "legitimate and routine arrangement for military training".
Behind the scenes, New Zealand diplomats privately decried China's "mischaracterisation".
"As this is the first time that China has undertaken such an action in the Pacific in several decades, it is a significant and concerning development," they wrote in one of the briefing documents.
AFP applied to access the heavily redacted documents -- written between September and October last year -- under New Zealand's Official Information Act.
They were classified as "Restricted", which protects government information with diplomatic or national security implications.
- Nuclear scars -
China has been seeking to cement its presence in the strategically important South Pacific, showering developing island nations with new hospitals, freshly paved roads, and gleaming sports stadiums.
But rarely has it so obviously flexed its military might in the region, where the United States, Australia and New Zealand have long been the security partners of choice.
"We have again asked China why it conducted the test at this time, and why it chose to terminate the missile test in the South Pacific," New Zealand diplomats wrote.
China's Rocket Force launched the intercontinental ballistic missile with little warning on September 25, 2024.
Photos released by China showed a projectile streaking into the sky from a secret location atop a billowing plume of smoke.
It appeared to be one of China's advanced Dong Feng-31 missiles, analysts said, a weapon capable of delivering a thermonuclear warhead.
The long-range missile splashed into a patch of ocean long designated a nuclear-free zone under an international treaty.
Pacific island nations remain deeply scarred by the nuclear tests that shook the region in the decades following World War II.
"This is the first time that we are aware of a test of a nuclear-capable missile terminating within the zone since its establishment in 1986," the New Zealand diplomats wrote.
- Forceful reminder -
China alerted the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Australia and New Zealand before the test.
But there was only a vague indication of what it would do, according to a separate batch of Australian government documents obtained by AFP.
"Beijing advised us of a planned activity the evening prior to the launch, but specific details were not forthcoming," Australian defence officials wrote in November last year.
Pacific island nations, however, were not provided with advance notice of the launch, New Zealand diplomats noted.
Following the launch, Japan publicly voiced "serious concern", Australia said the test risked "destabilising" the South Pacific, and Fiji urged "respect for our region".
Pacific nation Kiribati, one of China's warmest friends in the region, said the South Pacific Ocean should not be a proving ground for jostling big powers.
"The high seas in the Pacific are not isolated pockets of oceans... we appeal to all countries involved in weapon testing to stop these acts to maintain world peace and stability," read a government statement at the time.
China foreign policy expert Nicholas Khoo said the intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) test was particularly significant because it took place in the South Pacific.
"Since 1980, China's ICBM tests have taken place within Chinese territory," he told AFP.
"The test is a reminder to regional states that China is a 'full spectrum' power that has economic and military power. It is a peer with the US."
Harvard University researcher Hui Zhang said it was a forceful reminder of China's nuclear strength.
"The test shows that the Rocket Force has an operational and credible nuclear force that can help ensure China's ability to maintain a strong nuclear deterrent," he wrote last year for the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists.
"The rare public ICBM test seems to have been specifically aimed at dissuading Washington from using nuclear weapons in a potential conflict across the Taiwan Strait."
China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that the "facts are clear and no one has been misled".
"The missile test is a routine part of annual military training, in compliance with international law and international norms," it said in a statement.
sft/djw/ecl/cwl
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Fox News
an hour ago
- Fox News
Israel weighs options to destroy Fordow if it has to go it alone without help from the US
If President Trump decides not to order a strike on Iran's main underground enrichment site at Fordow, Israel has a number of options to destroy Iran's nuclear enrichment facility buried deep under a mountain south of Tehran. One option includes sending elite Israeli Air Force commandos from Unit 5101, known as Shaldag, which, in Hebrew, means kingfisher, a bird known to be patient and dive deep under water to find its prey. In September, members of this elite unit surprised the world by entering an underground missile factory used by Iran in Syria. "There was a site that similarly looked like Fordow," former Israeli Military Intelligence Chief Amos Yadlin told Fox News in an exclusive interview. "Even though smaller, the Syrian facility produced advanced ballistic missiles, precise ballistic missiles using Iranian technology, as well as Iranian money." Israel attacked the site from the air a few times but was not able to destroy the site. Unit 5101 (Shaldag) used the cover of darkness and diversionary airstrikes to enter the secret site, plant explosives and destroy the complex. Like Iran's Fordow mountain complex south of Tehran, it was 300 feet underground. "The Air Force took care of all the guards around the perimeter, and Shaldag got in, and the place is gone, destroyed," Yadlin said with a slight smile. It's not the first time Israel has had to plan to take out a secret nuclear complex against the odds and alone. In 1981, Israel flew a daring mission to bomb Iraq's nuclear reactor at Osirak. Yadlin was one of eight young Israeli F-16 pilots who carried out the secret attack. "We didn't have air refueling at that time. We didn't have GPS. It was dumb bombs, smart pilot, but a very difficult operational mission when Iraq was in a war (with Iran). So, the state of alert was very, very high," Yadlin recalled. He and the other pilots believed it might be a suicide mission, and they might not have enough fuel to return home. More recently, retired Maj. Gen. Yadlin served as the head of Israel's Military Intelligence in 2007, when Israel blew up a suspected Syrian nuclear reactor that the world did not know about. The White House at the time did not want to assist in the strike. Yadlin has seen history change after Israel has acted alone carrying out daring missions like the exploding pagers that killed most of the top commanders of Iran's proxy in Lebanon, Hezbollah. In 2008, when it was determined that Israeli F-16s could not reach Iran's nuclear sites, Yadlin ordered Mossad to come up with another way to take out Iran's uranium enrichment at Natanz. Two years later, Israeli and American cyber warriors introduced Stuxnet, a malicious computer worm that caused thousands of Natanz centrifuges to spin out of control, setting back Iran's nuclear enrichment. The decision to strike Fordow, the crown jewel and heart of Iran's nuclear program, is different, and Israel prefers the U.S. to use its B-2 stealth bombers and 30,000-pound bunker-buster bombs. "Anybody who wants the war to be over soon, to be finished quickly, have to find a way to deal with Fordow," Yadlin said. "Those who think that attacking Fordow will escalate the war, in my judgment, it can de-escalate and terminate the war." And it could serve as a deterrent to China and Russia, who will see the power and capability of the U.S. military's unique capability. Another option would be to cut power to Fordow. Without power, the centrifuges enriching the uranium could become permanently disabled. When asked if Israel could take out Fordow without American B-2 bombers, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Fox's Bret Baier in an exclusive interview last Sunday, "We have quite a few startups too and quite a few rabbits up our sleeve. And I don't think that I should get into that."
Wall Street Journal
2 hours ago
- Wall Street Journal
WSJ Opinion: Iran Makes No Concessions as Trump Contemplates U.S. Military Action
The U.S. President gives Iran two more weeks to dismantle its nuclear program peacefully, while Iran tries to pull in Europe and others to intervene to stop its war with Israel. Photo: Jack Guez/Reuters/Spencer Colby/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock/Iranian Supreme Leader's Office/Zuma Press
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Federal Transportation Minister Freeland 'dismayed' about choice of Chinese shipyard
VICTORIA — Federal Transportation Minister Chrystia Freeland says she is "dismayed" that BC Ferries has contracted a Chinese state-owned shipyard to build four new vessels in the current geopolitical context that includes "unjustified" tariffs on Canada. Freeland says in a letter sent to provincial Transport Minister Mike Farnworth that she expects BC Ferries to inform her about all measures that it plans to take to "mitigate any security risks," including cybersecurity problems that might arise from the decision. BC Ferries announced earlier this month that it has contracted China Merchants Industry Weihai Shipyards to build four new major vessels following a five-year-long procurement process that did not include a Canadian bid. Freeland adds she is "surprised" that BC Ferries does not have a mandate for an "appropriate level" of Canadian content in the procurement given the value of the contract, although the dollar figure hasn't been made public. Farnworth says in a statement that the ministry is reviewing the letter, adding that he has spoken with Freeland about the need to bolster B.C.'s shipbuilding industry. BC Ferries says in a statement that the Chinese bid was "the strongest bid by a significant margin" and that security is a "top priority," adding that all sensitive systems will be sourced separately and independently certified before the vessels enter service. This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 20, 2025. Wolfgang Depner, The Canadian Press Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
