US-China relations: militaries carry out missile tests as tensions continue to simmer

‘We are in a highly alert state for combat,’ PLA commander says after launch of DF-26 and DF-16 missiles

US fires missile capable of carrying nuclear warheads from California base into the Pacific Ocean

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The PLA test-fired a DF-26 missile, which has a range of 4,000km making it capable of striking the US Pacific territory of Guam. Photo: 81.cn

Published: 7:00pm, 5 Aug 2020Updated: 11:25pm, 5 Aug 2020

China and the United States have conducted ballistic missile tests as the two nations remain locked in a bitter rivalry.

The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Rocket Force fired two missiles – a DF-26 and a DF-16 – during a recent exercise, the official Chinese military news website 81.cn reported on Tuesday. It did not give an exact date for the tests.

The DF-26 has a range of 4,000km (2,500 miles) and is China’s first conventionally armed ballistic missile capable of striking Guam, a US territory in the western Pacific.

The DF-16 is the PLA’s most accurate short to medium range ballistic missile, designed to hit targets in Japan, including the US military bases in Okinawa.

“We are in a highly alert state for combat, to ensure our actions are prompt and precise,” Liu Yang, the commander of the brigade that carried out the tests, was quoted as saying.

The brigade also took part in an exercise to test their emergency response to an incoming nuclear attack, the report said.