颁丑颈苍补’蝉 test Monday of a nuclear-capable long-range missile from one of its advanced submarines contained implicit messages for Japan, the U.S. and others, but it also highlighted a new phase in the rapid expansion in Beijing’s nuclear-armed submarine force.
The launch was the first known full-range — or near-full-range — flight test of a Chinese long-range submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) deep into the Pacific, according to several experts. China has long been understood to possess the capability, but Monday’s test was the first public demonstration.
The test-firing of the “strategic missile” into the Pacific Ocean came after Tokyo, which received notice some 90 minutes before the launch, according to Japanese officials, “strongly urged” Beijing to reconsider the move.
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