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China deployed scores of planes and fired live missiles in the
Taiwan Strait after U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy
Pelosi made a trip to the self-ruled island. China considers
Taiwan part of its territory and has never renounced using force
to bring it under its control.
The test showed "the readiness of U.S. nuclear forces and
provides confidence in the lethality and effectiveness of the
nation's nuclear deterrent," a U.S. military statement said.
The military said about 300 such tests had occurred before and
it was not the result of any specific global event.
In April, the U.S. military canceled a test of its Minuteman III
intercontinental ballistic missile. That delay had aimed to
lower nuclear tensions with Russia during the ongoing war in
Ukraine.
The nuclear-capable Minuteman III, made by Boeing Co. (BA.N), is
key to the U.S. military's strategic arsenal. The missile has a
range of 6,000-plus miles (9,660-plus kms) and can travel at a
speed of approximately 15,000 miles per hour (24,000 kph).
Missiles are dispersed in hardened underground silos operated by
launch crews.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said in February that his
nation's nuclear forces should be put on high alert, raising
fears that Russia's invasion of Ukraine could lead to nuclear
war. But U.S. officials have said they have seen no reason so
far to change Washington's nuclear alert levels.
Russia and the United States have by far the biggest arsenals of
nuclear warheads after the Cold War that divided the world for
much of the 20th century, pitting the West against the Soviet
Union and its allies.
(Reporting by Idrees AliEditing by Peter Graff)
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