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FLASHPOINTS China’s Ministry of National Defense confirmed the ultra-high speed missile test, but said it wasn’t directed at the US. China has confirmed it conducted a hypersonic missile

test last week, but is downplaying its significance and implications. As my colleague Ankit wrote earlier this week, “Last week, the Chinese military successfully concluded the first test

flight of a hypersonic missile vehicle.” The test was first reported by the _Washington Free Beacon_, which quoted U.S. military and defense officials. On Thursday _China Daily reported_

“The Ministry of National Defense issued a statement on Wednesday dismissing media reports that China’s recent ultra-high speed missile test flight was aimed at delivering warheads through

the missile defenses of the United States.” It went on to quote the Ministry of National Defense as saying: “It is normal for China to conduct scientific experiments within its borders

according to its plans. The tests were not aimed at any nation nor any specific target.” The report didn’t specify whether the MND judged the test to be successful or not. The _Washington

Free Beacon_ article said that China had developed the missile in order to get pass U.S. missile defenses. Hypersonic missiles pose immense challenges to current missile defense technologies

because of their speed, maneuverability and the fact that they travel at lower altitudes than ballistic missiles. However, Chinese military analysts offered different reasons for America’s

concern. One analyst said that the U.S. was concerned about the test because of a lack of mutual strategic trust between the U.S. and Chinese militaries. He added that these mutual

misperceptions could be corrected through talks. A different Chinese defense analyst dismissed U.S. criticism outright on account of the fact that the U.S. spends more on its military than

China. “There is no need for the U.S. or any other country to worry about the development of the Chinese military, given that China’s military expenditure is much lower than that of the

U.S.,” said Li Qingkong, deputy secretary-general of the China Council for National Security Policy Studies. They didn’t need to convince Admiral Samuel Locklear, the head of U.S. Pacific

Command. In characteristic fashion, Admiral Locklear downplayed the significance of the test, saying he was not particularly concerned about the hypersonic missile, or about China’s growing

military capabilities more generally. Instead, he said that the U.S. should encourage China to “come into the security environment as a productive member,” adding “I think we should be more

optimistic about the future of China.” He did caution: “It doesn’t mean we should be Pollyannaish either.” Others in the United States took a less benign view of what the hypersonic missile

test said about China’s intentions and military modernization. Directly contracting the MND statement, the Heritage Foundation’s Larry Wortzel told _Voice of America_, “Chinese military

planners really seem convinced that their most likely enemy and their greatest potential threat is the United States.  They have a lot of other concerns.  Things are not great with Russia

even though they buy a lot.  Things are a lot worse with Japan. But they focus on us and they focus on our [American] technology.” Others in China, particularly scientists involved in the

missiles construction, are hailing the test as a huge technological achievement. China is just the second nation after the United States to test a hypersonic missile, although Russia is

known to be building one in coordination with India. According to the _South China Morning Post__,_ over 100 teams from different Chinese research institutes and universities were involved

in building the project. Many confided in the Hong Kong daily that despite the success of last week’s test, there were many outstanding issues that China had to overcome before the

hypersonic missiles could enter into active duty. In particular, they said that Chinese researchers had yet to figure out how to maintain “precise flight control” over the missile when it

was flying at such high speeds. Scientists in China were also trying to find “super materials” that could withstand the extreme heat during hypersonic flights. Wang Yuhui, a researcher on

hypersonic flight control at Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, told _South China Morning Post_: “I am sure many tests will be carried out after last week’s flight to solve

the problems. It’s just the beginning.”