A Chinese long-range missile test capable of carrying a nuclear warhead has sparked a wave of anxiety and anticipation in Australia and Pacific countries.

China confirmed the success of the launch, explaining that the missile carried a simulated training warhead and landed in an area outside the exclusive economic zones of Kiribati and Tuvalu.

Beijing said the test was a "routine arrangement" and was not directed against any country, adding that it had informed the parties involved of the launch in advance.

The Chinese missile, launched from a nuclear submarine into international waters in the South Pacific, landed in an area outside the exclusive economic zones of Kiribati and Tuvalu, carrying a simulated training warhead.

American-Australian outrage

The United States expressed its grave concern, saying Beijing is moving in the opposite direction to international efforts to curb nuclear proliferation.

The test received sharp reactions from the Australian leadership, with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese describing the launch as a provocative act that undermines regional peace and stability.

Defence Industry Minister Pat Conroy also pointed to a lack of sufficient transparency on Beijing's part, explaining that Australia was only informed of the event a few hours before it was implemented, and warned that the region is currently experiencing the largest military expansion since World War II.

In a major diplomatic surprise, the Solomon Islands government submitted a formal protest note to Beijing, a move that is of exceptional significance as the islands have been one of China's closest partners in the region since the signing of the Joint Security Agreement in 2022.

In Taiwan, security officials said the missile appeared to be a JL-2 ballistic missile capable of traveling thousands of kilometers, describing the move as demonstrating the arrogance of Chinese power in the region.

Critical timing

The timing of the test has raised deep questions in political circles, as it came just hours after Australia and Fiji signed a new defence agreement for mutual military support.

Analysts are divided on this synchronization, with the former arguing that the link between the two events may be exaggerated, given that missile tests from strategic submarines require complex technical and logistical preparations and time-consuming deployment of tracking vessels, leaving the hypothesis of immediate direct response undecided.

The second group, by contrast, believes that China has deliberately chosen the moment of execution with great precision to highlight its superior military power and send a clear message that Australia's security agreements will in no way change the balance of power in the region.

Struggle for influence

According to a report by Euronews, citing analysts, the test reflects the intensifying strategic competition between China on the one hand, and Australia and the United States on the other, for influence in the Pacific, and although the South Pacific is subject to the 1985 Treaty of Rarotonga, which declares a nuclear-weapon-free zone, Beijing continues to expand its military presence beyond the first chain of islands.

Analysts said China aims to bolster its ability to influence vital maritime shipping lanes linking Australia to the United States, which could become a crucial factor and a key pressure card in any future confrontation or crisis between major powers.

Defensive gaps

The intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) has highlighted a critical gap in Australia's defence capabilities, with Canberra currently found that it does not currently have an integrated missile defence system capable of intercepting this type of long-range ballistic missile.

Although Australia's defence spending has reached record levels in terms of value, the current figure of about 2 percent of GDP remains well below Cold War levels.

Canberra is aiming to raise that to 3 per cent by 2033, but remains below the 3.5 per cent level urged by the United States and its ally Australia to reach, at a time of growing international concern about the collapse of the New START treaty and the return of the global nuclear arms race.