Beijing, China - A spokesperson for China's defense ministry on Thursday justified the test launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) that triggered alarm from Japan and other Pacific countries.

On Wednesday, China alarmed Japan and its allies by launching an ICBM into the Pacific Ocean. It was the first test of its kind in nearly four decades.

After Japan, Taiwan, and a number of other Pacific countries expressed concern, Beijing went on the defensive and, on Thursday, justified the launch as a standard and "predictable" test.

"China's nuclear policy is very stable, consistent, and predictable," Chinese defense ministry spokesperson Zhang Xiaogang said in a news conference.

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Spokesperson Zhang further defended the move as a "legitimate and routine arrangement" that was simply meant to "test our weapon and training performance."

"We strictly follow a nuclear policy of no first use of nuclear weapons and pursue a nuclear strategy of self-defense," he said.

China has repeatedly reiterated its stance on the no-first-use of nuclear weapons and promised to keep its arsenal at "the minimum level required for national security."

Japan has claimed that it was not notified before the launch, as has Taiwan, which expressed "solemn condemnation." Governments in both New Zealand and Australia, and across the Indo-Pacific, have issued similar condemnations.

In response to the ICBM test, Deputy Pentagon Press Secretary Sabrina Singh said in a Wednesday press conference that the US did receive advanced notification of the test, despite claims made by Tokyo.

"We believe that [the notification] was a good thing, that it was a step in the right direction, and it does lead to preventing any misperception or miscalculation," Singh said.

"What we can do here from the department is continue to press for a more regularized bilateral notification arrangement when it comes to ballistic missile and space launches. This is something we have proposed with the PRC."