China carries out ballistic missile test hours after warning Australia and New Zealand

China carried out a long-range ballistic missile test in the south Pacific on Monday, sparking criticism from New Zealand and Australia.

An announcement by state news agency Xinhua said the test launch was carried out using a nuclear-powered submarine at 12.01pm (5.01am in the UK).

The Chinese military used a dummy warhead during the test, the agency reported, adding that the drill was part of routine annual training, complied with international law and practice, and was not directed against any country or target.

It's unclear where the test was located. China's last ballistic missile test in the Pacific Ocean was in 2024, where the military used an intercontinental range projectile with a dummy warhead.

However, it came the same day as Australia ​and Fiji signed a mutual defence alliance, which Fijian Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka said "does not threaten Fiji's relationship with China nor Australia's relationship with China".

Australia's foreign minister Penny Wong told reporters in Fiji that it "has been clear with China that we regard this as destabilising to the region", in response to the test.

Deputy prime minister Richard Marles also told a press conference on Monday "we were informed by China today of its intention to do this test".

"This is a long-range missile test, and we are very concerned about any actions which undermine the stability, the peace, and security of the Pacific," he added.

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In a statement after the missile test, the New Zealand government also noted that the missile was fired into the South Pacific Nuclear Free Zone.

That was established by the 1986 Treaty of Rarotonga, which prohibits nuclear weapons throughout the region.

China ratified the protocols in 1987, pledging not to test nuclear weapons within the zone, or to threaten to use them against signatories with territory in the region.

While New Zealand was informed of the planned launch, the country's foreign minister Winston Peters told the Associated Press: "It appears that despite our long-standing concerns about this type of activity, China carried out the test within hours of informing us."

(c) Sky News 2026: China carries out ballistic missile test hours after warning Australia and New Zealand