It is difficult to believe that something as large and ostentatious as a hypersonic missile could be the subject of possible misidentification, but so it would seem.
News reports based on numerous western intelligence services suggested China had indeed tested out such a weapon. capable of carrying a nuclear warhead, during the summer. Apparently it flew, faster than the speed of sound, through low-orbit before landing close to its target – broadly speaking a success, given the technological challenges involved.
Perhaps bashful, the Chinese authorities deny it was a missile, but merely a “reusable spacecraft”. From the point of view of its nervous neighbours and other world powers, it seems a distinction without a difference. They know what China is capable of these days. It is now a rival, and to some an enemy.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies