WASHINGTON, July 8 (Reuters) - China only gave the United States a few hours notice on July 6 that it was going to test launch a ballistic missile and gave insufficient detail, a State Department official said on Wednesday.
“China’s notification to the United States came only a few hours before the launch and failed to provide sufficient detail, falling considerably short of standards adopted by all other P5 nuclear weapon states,” the official said.
“The test occurred amid China’s rapid and opaque nuclear weapons buildup and is of great concern to the region,” the official added.
China’s military test-fired a missile from a nuclear-powered submarine into the Pacific on Monday, state media reported, drawing criticism and concern from the U.S., Japan, Australia, New Zealand and Taiwan.
(Reporting by Michael Martina in Washington, writing by Bhargav Acharya; editing by Michelle Nichols)
