Beijing | China test-fired an intercontinental ballistic missile into the Pacific Ocean on Wednesday.

The ICBM carried a dummy warhead and fell into a designated area of the sea, the Defence Ministry said in a statement.

The launch by the People's Liberation Army was part of routine annual training.

It added the launch complied with international law and was not directed against any country or target.

It is unclear how often China conducts tests over such a distance. In 1980, China launched an ICBM into the South Pacific.

A map published in Chinese newspapers at the time showed the target area as roughly a circle in the centre of a ring formed by the Solomon Islands, Nauru, the Gilbert Islands, Tuvalu, western Samoa, Fiji and the New Hebrides.