Why China Is Flashing Its Military Muscle

**SPEAKER_1** (0:02)
Bloomberg Audio Studios, Podcasts, Radio, News.

**K. Oanh Ha** (0:09)
China tests fired a long-range ballistic missile into the Pacific Ocean on Monday, rattling its neighbors and putting a display of military capability on the global stage that hasn't been seen from Beijing in years.

**SPEAKER_3** (0:27)
The missile flew over the exclusive economic zones of the Federated States of Micronesia, Nauru and Kiribati and landed about a thousand kilometers northeast of the Solomon Islands.

**SPEAKER_4** (0:38)
Australia has been clear that these proposed tests is in the context of a rapid military buildup by China, which is…

**K. Oanh Ha** (0:47)
Japan, Australia and New Zealand, who were all notified shortly before the launch, swiftly condemned the test, calling it concerning and destabilizing for the region.

**Rebecca Choong Wilkins** (0:58)
China essentially was conducting the first full range test of a Chinese submarine launched ballistic missile.

**K. Oanh Ha** (1:07)
Rebecca Choong Wilkins covers Asia government and politics for Bloomberg.

**Rebecca Choong Wilkins** (1:11)
It's not the first time that it's launched from a submarine, but it's the first full range test. And it's the first time we've seen it launched into the Pacific at this distance and also publicly.

**K. Oanh Ha** (1:23)
This past year has been a big one for China's military. A recent Bloomberg investigation showed that the country has ramped up its missile production. Last year's missile buildup was the biggest expansion since President Xi Jinping took office in 2013
Back in September, while reviewing a military parade, President Xi gave a clear directive. He said China's soldiers must accelerate the building of a world-class military. And Rebecca says, this week's missile launch was a highly public flex, one that signals Beijing believes it's on track to build one of the world's most powerful militaries.

**Rebecca Choong Wilkins** (2:12)
Xi's big ambition here is about having the so-called modern military. And the target he has always set himself is the 100th anniversary of the PLA. And that falls in 2027
It's not just the capabilities which are concerning, but the fact that Beijing appears to be projecting its power. So one big issue for neighboring countries and of course for the US is that this might be a new sort of normal.

**K. Oanh Ha** (2:47)
This is The Big Take Asia from Bloomberg News. I'm Oanh Ha. Every week we take you inside some of the world's biggest and most powerful economies and the markets, tycoons and businesses that drive this ever-shifting region. Today on the show, what a surprise missile test says about China's willingness to flex its military muscle and what a Bloomberg investigation reveals about Beijing's secretive defense sector and the country's growing arsenal.
Now, Rebecca, China just conducted a missile test that drew criticism from Japan, New Zealand, Australia, and the United States. What was it testing and why did it set off so many alarm bells?

**Rebecca Choong Wilkins** (3:33)
So China essentially was conducting the first full range test of a Chinese submarine-launched ballistic missile. So this is essentially a ballistic missile launched from a submarine and it landed in the Pacific, so about northeast of the Solomon Islands. And it's one of the more advanced, so-called SLBMs that it's tested. I think most experts would know and probably assume and understand that China has this capability. But we haven't seen China do this before publicly.
And so there is this interpretation that it's not just the capabilities which are concerning, but the fact that this is some kind of strategic signal. And one part of that is essentially showing that they can apparently perhaps match the US, which regularly tests these kinds of SLBMs.

**K. Oanh Ha** (4:23)
And what did Beijing demonstrate about its capabilities with this test that we hadn't seen before?

**Rebecca Choong Wilkins** (4:30)
So essentially, these types of ballistic missiles are one key part of China's fuller nuclear deterrent capability and fuller ability to hit back against any nuclear attack. So this is sometimes referred to as its second strike capability. And that's essentially a country's ability to retaliate if they were to be hit by a nuclear strike. And there are three key elements of that, right? So the sort of so-called nuclear triad. You want to be able to respond from land, from sea, and from the air. And so this specific leg of that triad is the sea-based capability. And it is a cornerstone of nuclear deterrence and so-called sort of like mutually assured destruction, right? It's a cornerstone, as Beijing sees it and as other countries around the world see it, from deterring other countries from attacking you with nuclear power. It is also worth mentioning that testing your SLBMs at full range is something you would do as a normal part of operations to make sure that everything worked, both for your own peace of mind and to establish deterrence. It's something the US does all the time.