Alwaght- China has conducted a combat test of a new type of missile in the Bohai Sea, according to a statement from the country’s defense ministry.
The missile was tested close to the Korean Peninsula which has witnessed heightened tensions, after North Korea, South Korea, and the US recently conducted military drills in the area.
Beijing announced last month that it would continue to stage live fire drills and test new weapons to address national security threats, as a response to the US’ recent controversial deployment of its THAAD anti-missile system in South Korea.
Opposing the long-disputed deployment of the system, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said that a peaceful solution to the Korean crisis was the “only right choice.” In order to de-escalate tensions surrounding the Korean peninsula, Beijing has come up with an initiative to call on North Korea to refrain from carrying out further missile and nuclear tests in exchange for the US and South Korea suspending their military exercises in the region.
This proposal is supported by Russia, which has urged Washington and Seoul to reconsider their decision to station THAAD on the peninsula, saying it serves as a “destabilizing factor” that undermines the security and deterrent capacity of adjacent states, such as China, and could tip the existing military balance in the tense region.
Chinese President Xi Jinping is overseeing a major modernization of the country's armed forces, with an emphasis on technological innovation and naval capability as it seeks to project greater power in the South China Sea where the US seeks to extend its hegemony.
