US says China gave only hours’ warning before Pacific submarine missile launch

AI Summary

The United States criticized China for providing only a few hours' notice before launching a submarine-fired ballistic missile into the Pacific. The US accused China of failing to meet international standards and expressed concern over China's rapid nuclear weapons development.

Washington criticised China on Wednesday for providing only a few hours’ notice ahead of its launch of a submarine-fired ballistic missile into the Pacific, saying Beijing’s actions fell short of standards followed by other major nuclear powers. The US State Department said China failed to provide sufficient information ahead of Sunday’s test, which it said took place amid Beijing’s “rapid and opaque nuclear weapons build-up”. “We monitored China’s submarine-launched ballistic missile test on...