Manila condemns China missile test days before 2016 arbitral ruling anniversary

MANILA, Philippines — Defense and military officials have condemned China's test-firing of a missile from a nuclear-powered submarine into the Pacific.

In separate statements on Tuesday, July 7, the Department of National Defense (DND) and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) branded the launch as a reckless provocation against countries that reject Beijing's expansionist claims. 

"This launch serves no peaceful purpose," the DND said in a statement, calling it "a calculated act of taunting and provocation against those who reject China's illegal expansionism and coercive conduct."  

The department said the test was a reckless display of military power that showed little regard for smaller nations and the fragile ecosystems their people depend on. 

It said the Philippines stood with its Pacific partners in pressing China to act responsibly and "stop turning shared seas into arenas of intimidation and imperial ambition."

The AFP said the launch had been done as part of an annual training routine, yet warned that the show of "advanced strategic nuclear capability" deepened anxieties across the region.

Rear Adm. Roy Vincent Trinidad, AFP spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea, said the armed forces would stay firm in its mandate to protect the country's sovereignty and sovereign rights in the West Philippine Sea. 

Days before the arbitral anniversary

China's People’s Liberation Army Navy yesterday said its submarine “launched a strategic missile carrying a dummy warhead toward relevant high seas of the Pacific Ocean, which landed precisely within the designated waters."

This took place days before the 10th anniversary, on July 12, of the Philippines' arbitral victory over China — a milestone Manila marks each year in its campaign to advance its maritime claims.

In 2016, a tribunal ruled that China's sweeping claims to the South China Sea had no legal basis, a decision Beijing has rejected and continues to ignore. 

The West Philippine Sea, the stretch of that sea within the Philippines' exclusive economic zone, has been the site of repeated confrontations between Philippine and Chinese vessels.