It is a mid-range surface-to-air missile tested on China’s borders, the ministry said in a brief statement, adding that the test was defensive in nature and was not aimed at any country.
Anti-ballistic missile systems are designed to protect a country from potential attacks by using projectiles to intercept incoming missiles, including intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs). Some analysts compare it to firing a bullet with another bullet.
This is China’s sixth known test of an anti-ballistic missile, according to state tabloid Global Times. The country has been doing these tests since 2010, usually every few years.
Earlier on Sunday, China last launched an anti-ballistic missile test in February 2021, according to state media.
“China plans to build a multi-layered missile defense system that consists of several components,” said Tong Zhao, principal investigator of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace’s Nuclear Policy Program.
These efforts are aimed at dealing with short, medium and long-range missiles; To date, China has developed HQ9 and HQ19 missile defense systems for the first two, and has not yet publicly announced the development of a system that can intercept intercontinental and long-range ballistic missiles, Zhao said.
It is unclear which system was tested on Sunday, as Chinese officials did not provide further information.
But judging by the size of the enclosed airspace, it could have been the medium-range HQ19, similar to the U.S. High Altitude Terminal Area Defense System (THAAD), or a new medium-sized system. way, Zhao said.
It looks similar to the “hit-and-kill” missiles the U.S. has been using, he added, referring to the technology that allows the interceptor to hit and completely destroy incoming threats.
The test comes amid rising tensions in the region, with a recent wave of North Korean missile tests including short-range ballistic missiles and an alleged ICBM. South Korean and US officials have also warned that renewed activity at the North Korean nuclear test site suggests that the country could conduct a nuclear test any day, the first since 2017.
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, who took office in May, has vowed to take a tougher stance with North Korea and has suggested he would try to install a second anti-ballistic missile system.
In 2016, when South Korea announced that it would deploy the US-built THAAD system, it sparked a one-year diplomatic dispute with China, arguing that the missile defense system would jeopardize its own security. national.
THAAD is designed to shoot down short, medium, and intermediate ballistic missiles and is used by the U.S. military to protect units in places such as Guam and Hawaii.
Despite criticism of South Korea’s use of THAAD, China has good reason to develop its own missile shield program, Zhao said.
“China cannot be left behind in this important area of military technology competition,” he said. “China is looking at other major powers. The United States is the main concern, but Russia is also developing increasingly capable missile defense technologies.”
And while North Korean missile tests have alarmed South Korea and Western observers, Beijing’s friendly relationship with the North means it is likely to be more concerned about other threats, such as India, with which it shares border tensions for a long time, and the US, which has deployed military assets in the region near China.
In early May, China criticized the United States for deploying medium-range ballistic missiles to the Asia-Pacific region, saying it had a “severely negative impact” on international arms control.