China’s test launch of a long-range missile capable of carrying a nuclear warhead should be treated as a significant security concern for Australia, an analyst has warned, noting the weapon could potentially reach major cities including Sydney and Brisbane in the event of a conflict.
The missile, which was reportedly equipped with a dummy warhead, was fired into the Pacific Ocean on Monday as part of what Beijing described as a “military training program,” according to China’s state-run Xinhua news agency.
Chinese authorities briefed relevant governments before the test, and the missile came down in a pre-designated zone between Nauru and Tuvalu.
Xinhua said the launch “is in accordance with international law and practice and is not directed against any specific country or target.”
However, Michael Shoebridge, director of the defence and security think tank Strategic Analysis Australia, said the test should not be dismissed and warranted close attention in Canberra.
“It looks like a 10,000km-range submarine-launched ballistic missile,” Mr Shoebridge said, adding that China has been developing this class of capability since 2018.
“It can reach literally from Beijing to Brisbane with a bit to spare. It could make it to Sydney and it is nuclear capable,” he said.
Mr Shoebridge said the launch underscored Beijing’s expanding military activity in the region and should be a concern for Prime Minister Anthony Albanese during a week in which Australia is working to strengthen agreements with Pacific nations.
China launched a nuclear-capable long-range missile with a dummy warhead in the Pacific Ocean on Monday as part of a ‘military training program’
Experts have said the missile should be of concern for Prime Minister Anthony Albanese as it has the capacity to reach as far as Sydney
‘There are two reasons for that concern,’ Mr Shoebridge told the Daily Mail.
‘First, it comes after the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy did a live firing exercise between Australia and New Zealand last year, interrupting peaceful airline flights.
‘China is expanding the reach of its security forces, notably its military, and as it grows its military power, it’s expanding to have a global reach.
‘Secondly, the Australian Defence Force has no capability to protect itself, let alone the Australian population or regional partners, from this kind of missile threat.
‘So the prime minister has an urgent air and missile defence gap that he needs to close.’
A source told The Australian the move was a response to Albanese and Fijian counterpart Sitiveni Rabuka signing the Ocean of Peace Alliance.
The alliance includes mutual defence obligations, stating an armed attack on any of the parties within the Pacific ‘would be dangerous to each other’s peace and security as well as the security of the Pacific’.
The document also opens up the alliance to other Pacific nations.
The military program on Monday saw the missile land between Nauru and Tuvalu
Michael Shoebridge, from the think tank Strategic Analysis Australia, said the missile demonstration is just one step in Beijing’s increased presence in the region
But Mr Shoebridge warned the deal lacked substance while Australia remained without defences against a long-range missile such as the one China tested.
‘Clearly having no defensive capability at all against those missiles that can reach Australia and South Pacific nations, that makes regional security deals a little bit empty,’ he said.
‘If you can’t respond to a threat, then you’re subject to that threat.’
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Mr Shoebridge also said the South Pacific is strategically important to China due to its mineral resources and fishing grounds.
‘It’s a key piece of ocean connecting Australia and America so, as part of a push to reduce the power of American alliances, it makes sense for China to be invested,’ he said.
Australia has mutual defence agreements with the US, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea, including the PukPuk Treaty, which comes into effect on Wednesday.
The testing of the missile in the Pacific is incendiary and destabilising, Albanese warned, and he has made his concerns known to Beijing.
‘We don’t want to see any action that is destabilising or which undermines the peace, security and stability of the Pacific and the region,’ he told reporters in the Solomon Islands on Tuesday.
‘There is no doubt that this is a provocative act by China, which does destabilise the region and therefore we will put forward our strong view.’
The moves comes after Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese (left) and Fijian counterpart Sitiveni Rabuk (right) signed a new defence alliance on Monday
China defended the tests saying it was a routine arrangement in its military training program
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Albanese said the lack of advanced notice by China about the test was not the only concern over the incident.
‘What we need is less nuclear weapons, certainly not more,’ he said.
‘The nature of the weapon that was tested has a capacity clearly to reach at long range and to cause considerable damage were it to be weaponised.’
Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning defended the test, saying it was a routine arrangement in its military training program.
‘It is consistent with international law and customary international practice and is not directed at any specific country or target,’ she said.
‘The countries concerned were informed prior to the launch. The whole process was safe, standard and professional.
‘We hope relevant countries will not read too much into it.’
Following his visit to Fiji, Albanese will head to the Solomon Islands to meet with his counterpart Matthew Wale after the two nations agreed to further discussions on a security deal.
While visiting Honiara on Tuesday, Albanese will participate in the Solomon Islands’ 48th Independence Day celebrations.
The trip follows the sealing of a long-awaited $500 million deal with Vanuatu, called the Nakamal Agreement.
Under the agreement, Port Vila agreed to close the door on foreign military bases in its territory.
To strengthen Australia’s relationships across the Pacific, Albanese will host the leaders of Papua New Guinea and Tonga at the State of Origin decider between NSW and Queensland in Brisbane on Wednesday night.
According to the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), Beijing has grown frustrated by Australia’s expanding network of Pacific security agreements, which are designed to curb China’s influence in the region.
