China's missiles have "checked in" in the Pacific Ocean — a decades-old routine, but what’s different this time?
The Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy has officially announced that on the noon of July 6, it successfully launched a submarine-launched strategic missile into the open waters of the Pacific Ocean, accurately hitting its designated target area.
This launch marks China’s first public confirmation of a successful submarine-launched strategic missile test conducted by a strategic nuclear-powered submarine in international waters of the Pacific. Shifting the impact point from nearshore regions to the vast expanses of the Pacific signifies that China has truly stepped onto the deep-sea battlefield.
Moreover, this was not launched from an underwater test platform, but rather from an operational strategic nuclear submarine, indicating that China’s sea-based nuclear deterrent force has evolved from a “prototype” into a highly reliable, combat-ready capability.
For China, we’ve been training for thirty years. Since China’s first-generation nuclear submarine completed its underwater launch test in 1988, up until just a few years ago, our activities were largely confined to testing weapons near our own shores.
Back then, the range of the Julang-1 missile was only over two thousand kilometers — launching deep in the Pacific was impractical. Thus, most of these submarine-launched tests were carried out in nearby seas such as the Bohai Sea, Yellow Sea, and South China Sea. At that time, we referred to these launches as weapon tests, primarily verifying whether the missile could be fired and fly properly.
But everything has changed this time.
The first change is the launch location. Previously, missile impact points were all within China’s surrounding waters. This time, the target was moved directly to the open Pacific Ocean. That means the nuclear submarine had to depart from its base, safely traverse the First Island Chain and Second Island Chain, reach the designated firing position, complete the launch, and return securely.
Completing this entire sequence tests far more than just whether a single missile works — it evaluates whether the entire chain can break through enemy blockades undetected, whether undersea communications can keep pace, and whether long-range tracking vessels can monitor the missile trajectory in real time. In the past, only land-based missiles could reach the Pacific; now, underwater capabilities can too — effectively adding a new card that others cannot easily read.
The second change is the platform itself. This launch was not from a test submarine, but from an active-duty strategic nuclear submarine. This indicates that the technical maturity of this class has been fully achieved — it is now a weapon ready for combat deployment at any moment.
Finally, this launch connects with the land-based test conducted in 2024. Last year, the Rocket Force launched an intercontinental ballistic missile into the Pacific; this year, the Navy’s nuclear-powered submarine followed suit. Within less than two years, both land and sea platforms have each conducted one such test — previously, such events occurred once every ten or eight years. Now, they’re happening twice within two years.
In short, in the past, we aimed to prove we had the capability. Today, we aim to prove we can use it, dare to use it, and are always ready to use it.
Original source: toutiao.com/article/1869944844237956/
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author.