PLA Rocket Force test-fires road-mobile ICBM into South Pacific in first high-seas launch in 44 years
解放军火箭军向南太平洋试射洲际弹道导弹 44年来首度落入公海
- The PLA Rocket Force launched an intercontinental ballistic missile carrying a dummy warhead 11,500 kilometers from Hainan Island into the South Pacific near French Polynesia. 解放军火箭军从海南岛向法属波利尼西亚附近的南太平洋公海发射了一枚携带模拟弹头的洲际弹道导弹，落点距离发射地达11,500公里。
- The launch marks China's first public test of an ICBM into international waters since the May 1980 Operation 580 trials of the liquid-fueled DF-5. 这是自1980年5月向南太平洋进行“东风-5”全程飞行试验（“580”任务）以来，中国时隔44年首次公开向国际公海水域试射洲际导弹。
- Geospatial analysis confirms the weapon was a road-mobile DF-31AG fired from civilian transport corridors to demonstratively verify nuclear readiness following extensive leadership purges. 地球空间情报分析确认，此次发射使用的是公路机动型东风-31AG发射车，选址民用交通走廊发射，旨在领导层经历大清洗后，以实战姿态验证核力量的战备状态。
The People’s Liberation Army Rocket Force launched a DF-31AG intercontinental ballistic missile from Hainan Island into the South Pacific, firing across 11,500 kilometers of open ocean in Beijing’s first high-seas ballistic missile trial since 1980, The Guardian reported. The trajectory was unprecedented. Open-source tracking and geospatial analysis by the Federation of American Scientists confirmed the nuclear-capable weapon flew from a road-mobile transporter erector launcher parked on Hainan’s highways, splashing down inside the high seas near French Polynesia after arcing over the northern Philippines.
The exercise relies on pretextual cloaking. Defense ministry officials dismissed the test as a routine annual training event, masking an aggressive nuclear flex behind boilerplate bureaucratic neutrality. The operational reality reflects calculated strategic coercion. Beijing last splashed long-range warheads into international shipping lanes in May 1980, when military engineers tested DF-5 prototypes during Operation 580. Staging the flight now projects restored combat readiness after sweeping corruption purges gutted the Rocket Force leadership over defective missile silos and procurement kickbacks.
Firing unannounced across Pacific shipping corridors rattles neighboring capitals while ordinary Chinese citizens foot the bill for nuclear expansion amid economic stagnation. Regional democracies received no operational warning. By turning high-seas air corridors into proving grounds for strategic intimidation, the party-state signals that its nuclear deterrence recognizes no international commons. The display demonstrates how an embattled military apparatus answers domestic scandal with overseas brinkmanship.
据《卫报》报道，中国人民解放军火箭军从海南岛向南太平洋发射了一枚东风-31AG洲际弹道导弹，跨越11,500公里开阔大洋，这是北京自1980年以来首次在公海水域进行洲际导弹全射程试验。其弹道前所未有。开源情报追踪与美国科学家联合会的地理空间分析确认，这型具备核打击能力的武器是从停泊在海南公路上的公路机动发射车上起竖发射的，弹头掠过菲律宾北部上空后，坠入法属波利尼西亚附近的公海。
这场演练充斥着借口式伪装。中国国防部官员将此次试验轻描淡写为“例行性年度军事训练”，用公式化的官僚中立修辞掩盖极具侵略性的核武秀肌肉。这一行动的本质是经过周密计算的战略胁迫。北京上一次向国际航道公海试射远程弹头还要追溯至1980年5月“580”任务期间测试东风-5原型的历史。在因导弹发射井缺陷及采购回扣丑闻导致火箭军领导层遭彻底整肃清洗之后，选择在此时展示战备投送能力，意在粉饰其受损的核战备威慑力。
在经济停滞、民生艰难之际，普通中国公民被迫为无节制的核扩张买单，而未提前通报便向太平洋繁忙航道试射导弹的做法更令周边各国深感不安。区域民主政体未获任何发射实操预警。通过将公海空域划作战略恐吓的试验场，这个党国体制公然昭示其核威慑无视国际公域准则。这场军事表演暴露了陷入困境的军队系统如何惯于用对外冒险的边缘政策，来转移并掩盖其内部深刻的丑闻与动荡。
State media outlets including Xinhua and CCTV heavily circulated launch footage, triggering a wave of nationalist celebration across Weibo under the trending hashtag #DongfengExpressDelivered#. Commentators enthusiastically praised the weapon's reach, framing the flight as an unambiguous deterrent message to the United States and Taiwan: 'The courier always delivers on time, anywhere on Earth.' In more restrained discussions on Zhihu, military enthusiasts noted the tactical significance of firing a road-mobile solid-fuel missile from an island highway rather than fixed inland silos. Meanwhile, critical voices on private WeChat channels questioned the astronomical expense of strategic missile programs during an acute domestic property crisis and local government debt crunch.
新华社与央视等官媒大幅传播发射画面，在微博“#东风快递使命必达#”等热搜标签下掀起阵阵民族主义狂欢。诸多亲官方评论员盛赞其战略威慑范围，将此次发射视作对美台的明确警告：“东风快递，风雨无阻，全球必达。”在知乎等平台上更为理性的讨论中，军事爱好者注意到了从海岛公路机动发射固体燃料导弹相较于内陆固定发射井的战术意义。与此同时，微信私密群聊中不乏质疑声音，反思在严峻的国内房地产危机与地方财政枯竭的关口，耗费天文数字维持战略核军备是否合理。
The Cyberspace Administration of China issued strict guidelines to digital platforms, strictly barring any speculation linking the high-profile launch to the systemic corruption scandals and sudden dismissals of former Rocket Force commander Li Yuchao and defense minister Li Shangfu. State censors systematically removed posts discussing whether procurement kickbacks had compromised missile silo doors or propellant quality. Comment sections beneath regional diplomatic protest reports from Japan, Australia, and New Zealand were disabled or aggressively filtered to suppress public awareness of Pacific island condemnation.
国家网信办向各大数字平台下发严格指令，严禁将此次高调试射与此前火箭军司令员李玉超、前国防部长李尚福落马等系统性腐败整肃案相关联。网络审查员迅速清理了关于军品采购腐败是否导致发射井盖故障或推进剂造假的讨论帖。在日本、澳大利亚和新西兰等国提出外交抗议的新闻报道下方，评论区全数被关闭或遭到严苛过滤，竭力压制公众对太平洋岛国强烈谴责的声音。
China historically conducts intercontinental ballistic missile tests within its own continental landmass, typically firing westwards from facilities like Taiyuan into remote impact areas in the Taklamakan Desert of Xinjiang to conceal telemetry. The September 25 trajectory over the northern Philippines towards French Polynesia mirrors the historic May 1980 Operation 580, which validated Beijing's first-generation DF-5 ICBM ahead of its nuclear submarine deployment. Modern road-mobile DF-31AG launchers rely on eight-axle heavy vehicles designed for rapid dispersibility across civilian roadways, reducing pre-launch vulnerability to preemptive counterforce strikes.
历史上，中国洲际导弹试验多在陆地腹地封闭进行，通常从太原等基地向西发射至新疆塔克拉玛干沙漠的偏远靶场，以严格掩盖遥测数据。此次于9月25日掠过菲律宾北部上空射向法属波利尼西亚的弹道轨迹，复刻了1980年5月检验第一代东风-5洲际导弹性能的“580”历史任务。现代公路机动型东风-31AG发射车依托八轴重型特种车底盘，具备在民用公路网快速机动隐蔽发射的能力，大幅削弱了核设施遭遇首轮打击时的脆弱性。