UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — China test-fires ‘strategic’ missile in the Pacific, raises regional concerns

Q1. China's land-based intercontinental ballistic missile arsenal is operated exclusively by which one of the following?

  • A. PLA Rocket Force
  • B. PLA Navy (PLAN)
  • C. PLA Air Force (PLAAF)
  • D. PLA Strategic Support Force

Q2. The Chinese missile launch of 6 July 2026 into the Pacific was chiefly significant because it was:

  • A. the first submarine-launched strategic ballistic missile test China publicly acknowledged conducting into the Pacific Ocean
  • B. China's first atmospheric nuclear detonation since 1996
  • C. the first Chinese intercontinental ballistic missile fired over international waters
  • D. the first jointly conducted China–Russia missile launch

Q3. How many countries publicly criticised China's 6 July 2026 submarine-launched missile test in the Pacific?

  • A. Two
  • B. Three
  • C. Four
  • D. Five

Q4. China's September 2024 intercontinental ballistic missile launch into the Pacific was reported to be its first such test conducted in international waters in how many years?

  • A. 30 years
  • B. 40 years
  • C. 44 years
  • D. 50 years

Q5. Australia's decade-long investment of over A$1 billion in Fiji, signed alongside the Ocean of Peace Alliance in July 2026, is delivered under which of the following treaties?

  • A. Vuvale Union
  • B. Falepili Union
  • C. PACER Plus
  • D. Boe Declaration

Q6. Which Russian warship, the flagship of Russia's Pacific Fleet, participated in the China–Russia 'Joint Sea-2026' exercise near Qingdao?

  • A. Guards missile cruiser Varyag
  • B. Corvette Rezky
  • C. Submarine Ufa
  • D. Cruiser Moskva

Q7. Under India's nuclear doctrine, the authority to order the use of nuclear weapons rests solely with which of the following bodies?

  • A. Political Council of the Nuclear Command Authority
  • B. Executive Council of the Nuclear Command Authority
  • C. Strategic Forces Command
  • D. Cabinet Committee on Security