While the world’s attention is on Iran, China has been making its moves — buying ample time to extend its dominance in the South Pacific. The timing is not an accident. 

Recently, on July 6, China launched a submarine-based ballistic missile with a dummy warhead into the Pacific Ocean during a “test” run. The test marks only a two-year gap since China’s last such launch, in 2024 — which itself came after a 44-year pause dating back to 1980, when Beijing conducted its first ballistic missile test into the Pacific. That compression, from a 44-year gap to a two-year one, is itself a signal of how quickly China’s willingness to display this capability is accelerating.