WASHINGTON - The United States said Monday that China's test-firing of a nuclear-capable ballistic missile from a submarine was of "great concern" to Asia and the rest of the world.
In response to the test conducted around 20 hours earlier, the U.S. State Department released a statement urging China to curb nuclear proliferation and reiterating Washington's defense commitments to its allies.
"Beijing's rapid and opaque nuclear weapons buildup is of great concern to the region and the world," it said.
According to China's military and official media, the country's navy on Monday successfully test-fired a strategic missile carrying a dummy warhead from a nuclear submarine toward high seas in the Pacific Ocean.
The department's statement said the United States had monitored the launch of the unarmed "intercontinental-range ballistic missile" that fell in the southern Pacific Ocean.
It also said China should engage in "meaningful arms control discussions and commit to a regularized notification arrangement" for such missile and space launches, as pledged by the other permanent members of the U.N. Security Council -- Britain, France, Russia and the United States.
