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Pakistan navy test-fires anti-ship missile, says it hit target at extended range

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistan’s military said Thursday the navy successfully test-fired a new locally developed ship-launched anti-ship missile.

In a statement, the military said the missile “accurately engaged its target with high speed at extended range” during a live firing exercise witnessed by Chief of the Naval Staff Adm. Naveed Ashraf, along with scientists and engineers involved in the program.

It improves on earlier systems with an advanced guidance package and enhanced maneuverability designed to “evade threats, adapt to dynamic conditions and deliver with precision and lethality,” the statement said, calling the launch a demonstration of the country’s precision-strike capability.

The statement said the test underscored the navy’s commitment to maintaining “credible sea-based deterrence” in the conventional domain and ensuring maritime security and stability in the region.

Pakistan’s military often test-fires domestically developed missiles and its missile program is mainly aimed at countering any potential threat from neighboring India.

Beijing bans 4 New Zealand lawmakers from entering China because they visited Taiwan

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — Beijing banned four New Zealand lawmakers from traveling to China for a year and demanded they apologize because they visited Taiwan on a parliamentary trip, according to a message from the Chinese embassy conveyed via parliamentary officials and shown to The Associated Press on Thursday. China has hit lawmakers from other countries with sanctions related to contact with Taiwan before, but it's the first time for New Zealand parliamentarians, the government in Wellington said. Beijing has been increasing pressure in recent years on the democratically governed island that it claims as its own territory. Two lawmakers reached by the AP on Thursday rejected the demand for an apology, while the other two could not be immediately reached. New Zealand's government said it would express concern about the travel bans to Beijing. The elected officials visited Taipei in May, as New Zealand parliamentarians have done “for decades,” a spokesperson for Foreign Minister Winston Peters said in a statement.
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