News brief

China has test-fired an intercontinental ballistic missile into the Pacific Ocean. The test was rare, adding to tensions in the region where multiple countries have overlapping territorial claims. The Defense Ministry says the launch on Sept. 25 was part of routine training by the People’s Liberation Army’s Rocket Force and was not aimed at any country or target. Experts say China choosing the Pacific Ocean as the location for test-firing its missile comes across as both a display of its increased nuclear capabilities and as a warning to the United States and its allies in the region.

China’s expansions in the South China Sea are shifting power dynamics in the valuable, disputed waterways, complicating efforts to maintain peace.