Source: Zero Hedge

The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Rocket Force’s Sina Weibo account, called DF Express, wrote a post Monday evening that said “Do you believe there are UFOs in this world?” with a picture of a ballistic missile in launch position.

The Navy then posted on its Weibo account an SLBM test, with a similar message: “Do you believe in UFOs?”

PLA forces conducted the SLBM test in the Bohai Sea and Bohai Straits, off the coast of northeastern China, which lines up with dozens of social media reports from residents across various Chinese provinces saying they saw a UFO streak across the sky.

Jane’s Defence Weekly said Sunday’s SLBM test could have been China’s next generation SLBM, called the JL-3.

The JL-3 is China’s third-generation SLBM that will likely deploy with the Type 096 submarine. The new missile is expected to fly further and is capable of carrying more warheads than current SLBMs, Xu Guangyu, a senior consultant at the China Arms Control and Disarmament Association, told the Global Times on Tuesday.

According to RT, the JL-3 has a range of up to 8,700 miles and can carry ten guided nuclear warheads. The long range of the SLBM allows it to strike Washington without a problem from the Bohai Straits. If China swaps out nuclear warheads with hypersonic gliders, it could be an unstoppable weapon for deterrent purposes.

Despite social media posts from the military, there is still no confirmation from Beijing about the launch.

The missile launch came shortly after the US Department of Defense published its Indo-Pacific Strategy Report, along with the Trump administration raising 25% tariffs on $200 billion of Chinese goods on Saturday.

Guangyu told the Global Times it’s necessary for China to showcase its new, rapidly growing military strength to counter US provocations.

And again, more evidence in real-time shows a rising China with impressive military strength is generating structural stress that threatens to dissolve America’s global empire and could eventually lead to a military conflict, otherwise known as Thucydides’s Trap.