At the plenary meeting of Conference on Disarmament (CD) on 11 August, the United States coerced a number of states into releasing a joint statement on so-called “Notifications of Ballistic Missile Launches”, targeting China’s recent submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) test launch. It leveled groundless accusations against China’s goodwill practice of providing advance notifications for missile test, engaged in blatant political manipulation, and severely poisoned the working atmosphere of the CD. China expresses strong dissatisfaction with and firm opposition to such act.

China’s recent SLBM test launch is a routine part of its annual military training, aimed to verify the reliability, safety and effectiveness of relevant weapon systems, and is not targeted at any specific country or objective. China issued pre-launch notifications to relevant countries including the US. China’s Maritime Safety Administration and Civil Aviation Administration had issued navigational and space warnings containing precise coordinates of the impact area 24 hours in advance. China conducted the test launch within the announced window of time, and the missile fell into the high seas as planned. There was no aviation or maritime navigation safety incident, or pollution or damage to the maritime environment. These measures were professional, safe and standard, consistent with international law and international customary practices. They demonstrated China’s constructive and transparent approach and were conducive to enhancing mutual trust and reducing misunderstandings and miscalculations. China undertook these prudent and reasonable measures to ensure that the test did not harm the interests of any country, which fully demonstrated China’s good faith. 

It is entirely illogical for a handful of countries including the US demands that other countries provide standard advance notifications according to the Hague Code of Conduct against Ballistic Missile Proliferation (“HCOC”). The HCOC is a political commitment voluntarily subscribed to by relevant countries, rather than a universal mechanism. China, as a non-member of the HCOC, is not bound by it. In fact, in contrast to China’s voluntary notifications, the US has barely provided China with advance notifications in recent years, except on only one occasion when it provided a notification to China in November 2024 as a so-called “reciprocal move” in response to China’s pre-launch notification of its own launch earlier that year. As the country conducting more intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) test launches than any other state in the world, the US did not provide the pre-launch notification to China, in what position is it to criticize China’s gesture of goodwill? Motivated by narrow geopolitical calculations, certain countries have treated China’s goodwill measures in bad faith, which amounts to blatant double standards.

Among the five nuclear-weapon States, China is the only one that undertakes not to be the first to use nuclear weapons and not to use or threaten to use nuclear weapons against non-nuclear-weapon States or nuclear-weapon-free zones. China has signed and ratified the Additional Protocols to the South Pacific Nuclear-Free Zone Treaty, assuming legal obligations not to use or threaten to use nuclear weapons against its States Parties and not to conduct nuclear tests in that zone. China is committed to the path of peaceful development and pursues a nuclear strategy of self-defense. China maintains its nuclear forces at the minimum level required for national security and does not engage in any form of nuclear arms race. China’s nuclear forces play a positive role in deterring nuclear wars and maintaining global peace and strategic stability. China will not accept any groundless accusations by a small number of countries with ulterior motives against our legitimate national defense modernization. We urge relevant countries to engage in self-reflection, cease political manipulation, and do more things that genuinely contribute to the world peace and stability.