Chinese missile lands 'close' to French Polynesia in Pacific

French Polynesia said a Chinese intercontinental ballistic missile launched into the Pacific landed near its exclusive economic zone, as Beijing's first such tests in four decades drew a chorus of protests.

China had announced the rare trial on Wednesday, saying that the missile was carrying a dummy warhead.

The launch sparked protests from countries in the region, with China's neighbour Japan saying it had not been given advance notice and Taiwan expressing "solemn condemnation".

Australia said it was seeking "an explanation", while New Zealand called the launch "an unwelcome and concerning development".

French Polynesia President Moetai Brotherson earlier said "the missile fell not far from... the Marquesas Islands", an archipelago that is part of its exclusive economic zone.

"The Chinese authorities previously notified their French counterparts of this test," the French High Commission said in a statement, adding that France would make its position on the test known.

The Pentagon also said the United States received "some advanced notification of this ICBM test", describing this as "a step in the right direction" that would help prevent "misperception or miscalculation".

China's military on Thursday released imagery of the missile, showing the projectile soaring into the air in a plum of smoke from an undisclosed location.

Analysts said the imagery suggested the launch could be of a Dongfeng-31 AG intercontinental ballistic missile, unveiled during a military parade in 2017.

Beijing has stepped up its nuclear development and boosted defence spending in recent years, with the Pentagon warning last October that China was developing its arsenal more quickly than the United States had anticipated.

China held more than 500 operational nuclear warheads as of May 2023 and is likely to have more than 1,000 by 2030, the Pentagon said.

Beijing's defence ministry said the firing was a "routine arrangement in our annual training plan" and "not directed against any country or target".

But one analyst said Beijing was "clearly trying to... signal that 'we are strong'."

"It sends a signal to the US and its allies... that China has the military ability to react in the event of any escalation of tensions between the United States and China," said Benjamin Ho, assistant professor at Singapore's S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies' China Programme.