China says test-fired missile in Pacific Ocean

Beijing: A Chinese submarine test-fired a "strategic" missile carrying a dummy warhead into the Pacific Ocean on Monday, Beijing said, drawing immediate condemnation from nations in the region.

China made the rare show of its military might on the same day Australia and Fiji signed a major defence treaty, bolstering their ties as Canberra seeks to outmanoeuvre Beijing in the strategically important South Pacific.

New Zealand described the test as involving a nuclear-capable "long-range ballistic missile", but China's defence ministry did not confirm whether an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) was used.

Monday's test followed two years after China's elite Rocket Force fired an ICBM into the sea near French Polynesia, its first launch of one those missiles over international waters in more than 40 years.

The new test came when a nuclear submarine launched a "strategic missile carrying a training simulation warhead" at 12:01 pm (0401 GMT), a Chinese navy statement said, adding it had "accurately land(ed) in the designated sea area".

"This missile test launch is a routine arrangement of China's annual military training, and relevant countries were informed in advance," spokesperson Wang Xuemeng said in the WeChat statement.

But New Zealand's foreign minister said the launch had been carried out "within hours" of his country being told.

"The Pacific is an Ocean of Peace and we are deeply concerned by China's testing of nuclear-capable weapons into the South Pacific," Winston Peters said in a statement, adding that the launch "is not consistent with regional stability".

Australia also called the launch "destabilising", while Japan said it had "expressed serious concerns over China's increasing military activity".

Asked about the reactions at a regular press briefing on Monday, China's ministry of foreign affairs said the launch was "not directed at any specific country or target".

"Related launch operations were conducted safely, in a standardised manner and professionally. It is hoped that relevant countries will not overinterpret this," spokeswoman Mao Ning told reporters.