China

Chinese Nuclear Submarine Test-Launches Long-Range Missile

Is this test a vital deterrence strategy or a destabilizing provocation threatening Pacific security?

Published 6 hours ago

China Fires Sub-Launched Missile Into Pacific

Story

Above: People's Liberation Army (PLA) JL-3 intercontinental-range submarine in Beijing on Sept. 3, 2025. Image credit: Qilai Shen/Bloomberg/Getty Images

The Spin

Pro-China narrative

China's submarine-launched missile test is a genuine leap in strategic deterrence. The JL-3's 10,000-kilometer range ensures a credible second-strike capability that prevents any nation from gambling on a preemptive attack. Strengthening this nuclear triad actually reduces the risk of conflict in the Taiwan Strait and South China Sea by eliminating dangerous miscalculations.

Loong of the east on X Global Times

Anti-China narrative

China's missile test rattled the entire Pacific region, and the so-called advance notice was a deceptive warning framed as a "space debris" alert — hardly the transparency Beijing claims. Australia called the launch destabilizing, New Zealand flagged it as a direct threat to the South Pacific Nuclear Free Zone, and Japan raised alarms over potential airspace violations. This is a provocative escalation.

Unveiled China on X NHK