Beijing, June 20: Chinese Defence ministry has said that the country has test-fired an anti-ballistic missile in a bid to strengthen its defensive capabilities.
According to the country’s Defence Ministry, the launch was conducted on Sunday night.
This marks China’s sixth known test of a land-based anti-ballistic missile, according to state-run tabloid Global Times. The country has been conducting such tests since 2010, typically holding them every few years, CNN reported on Monday.
The ministry said in a brief statement that the missile, tested within Chinese territory, was defensive in nature and not targeted against any country.
The test comes amid rising tensions in the region, with a recent spate of missile tests from North Korea including short-range ballistic missiles and a presumed ICBM. South Korean and US officials have also warned that renewed activity at North Korea’s nuclear test site suggests the country could conduct a nuclear test any day — its first since 2017, CNN reported.
In February 2021, China has conducted an anti-ballistic missile launch.
“China is planning to build a multilayered missile defense system which consists of several components,” Tong Zhao, a senior fellow in the Nuclear Policy Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, was quoted as saying.
These efforts aim to tackle short-range, medium-range and long-range missiles; so far, China has developed the HQ9 and HQ19 missile defense systems for the first two, and has not yet publicly announced the development of a system that can intercept longer-range and intercontinental ballistic missiles, CNN quoted Zhao as saying.
It is unknown that which system was tested on Sunday, as no further information by the Chinese officials has been shared.
Zhao said that however, the system could be the medium-range HQ19, similar to the US’ Terminal High Altitude Area Defence (THAAD) system, or a different new mid-course system.
The missile looks similar to the “hit-to-kill” missiles the US has been using, he added, referring to technology that allows the interceptor to hit and completely destroy incoming threats, according to CNN report.
With UNI Inputs…
