41 Nations Call for Advance Notice of Missile Launches

Washington, Aug. 11 (Jiji Press)–Countries including the United States and Japan on Tuesday called on all relevant nations to notify affected states of launches of intercontinental ballistic missiles, submarine-launched ballistic missiles and space launch vehicles “no less than 24 hours in advance.” In a joint statement, 41 nations said that “recent missile testing activity in the Pacific area did not follow the standard practices adopted by most states to notify and deconflict ICBM, SLBM and SLV launches.” On July 6, the Chinese military launched what appeared to be an SLBM toward the Pacific Ocean from a nuclear submarine. “Conducting nuclear-capable ballistic missile tests without sufficient advance notice and detail is dangerous and disrupts the peace and security of relevant nations in proximity to these tests,” the statement said. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]