Chinese nuclear missile test flight passed near Guam

A Chinese nuclear-capable, submarine-launched ballistic missile test flight passed near Guam, according to details shared Monday by Taiwan’s National Security Council secretary general Joseph Wu. Wu posted a map on social media describing a JL-2 “underwater-launched” missile fired from a submarine off southern Guangdong. The route, he said, ran southeast over the northern Philippines and into the South Pacific, passing south of Guam before going north of Palau and near Nauru, then impacting at sea. Estimated range was about 4,000 miles, within the Pentagon’s gauge of the JL-2’s range. The JL-2 is reported to reach 7,456 miles and can carry a single megaton warhead or MIRVs of 20 to 150 kilotons. Washington monitored the test and criticized China’s nuclear buildup. The Defense State Department cited an ongoing lack of arms-control engagement. It is the second such ICBM/SLBM test in two years after a 44-year gap, with U.S. officials calling it part of an unprecedented nuclear buildup.