U.S. delays Minuteman III missile test amid tensions over Taiwan - WSJ

The Biden administration postponed a routine test launch of an Air Force Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile to avoid escalating tensions with Beijing amid China's show of force near Taiwan, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday https://on.wsj.com/3Stfn3y citing U.S. officials. The U.S. Air Force had planned to conduct the test launch this week from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, the report added.

The Biden administration postponed a routine test launch of an Air Force Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile to avoid escalating tensions with Beijing amid China's show of force near Taiwan, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday https://on.wsj.com/3Stfn3y citing U.S. officials.

The U.S. Air Force had planned to conduct the test launch this week from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, the report added. U.S. officials didn't define how long the delay would last, but one said it might last 10 days, the Journal reported.

China deployed scores of planes and fired live missiles near Taiwan in a show of force in the Taiwan Strait on Thursday, a day after U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi made a trip to the self-ruled island. Pentagon officials couldn't immediately be reached for comment.

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 war in Ukraine. The nuclear-capable Minuteman III is key part of the U.S. military's strategic arsenal. The missile has a range of 6,000-plus miles (9,660-plus km) and can travel at a speed of approximately 15,000 miles per hour (24,000 kph).