China has conducted a successful land-based anti-missile test on its territory, China’s Defense Ministry said Thursday in a statement published on its website.

“The purpose of the test was achieved,” the statement said.

The Ministry did not give any more details about the test.

It is not the first time China is testing its ground missile defense system. In 2013, exercises were held against the backdrop of worsening territorial dispute between China and Japan over a group of uninhabited islands in the East China Sea known as the Diaoyu Islands to China and the Senkaku Islands to the Japanese.

This year, another test was also held amid increasing tensions in the region, particularly a launch of tactical ballistic missiles by North Korea and the worsening of territorial disputes between China and its neighbors in the South China Sea. 

Source: Reuters