China’s missile tests in Bohai ‘aimed at THAAD’
Analysts say ‘rare high-profile announcement of test’ was a response to last month’s deployment of US-built anti-missile system in South Korea
Chinese rocket forces tested a new type of missile aimed at the country’s waters west of the Korean peninsula, the defence ministry announced in a rare public statement.
The statement did not say what missile was tested or when the launch took place but the announcement was likely aimed at South Korea and the United States, observers said.
“The People’s Liberation Army Rocket Force conducted a test of a new type of missile somewhere in Bohai [Sea] in recent days, and achieved desired results,” the ministry said in a statement on Tuesday.
It said the test was designed to boost the military’s capacity to fight threats to national security.
Military analysts said the “rare high-profile announcement of the missile test” was a response to the deployment of the US-built Terminal High Altitude Area Defence (THAAD) anti-missile system in South Korea. The announcement comes after defence ministry spokesman Yang Yujun said last month that China would conduct live-fire drills and test new weapons to safeguard its security in response to the THAAD roll-out.