This declaration comes a month after the testing by China of an SLBM over the Pacific, which landed approximately 300 km east of Tonga, according to Taiwanese sources. China notified several countries in advance and established temporary maritime and airspace restrictions around the test area. While Australia, Japan, and New Zealand confirmed they had received prior notification, they also expressed concern over the test. In Washington, the State Department complained that the notification came only a few hours before the test and contained to few details. In particular, China is not subscribing to the Hague Code of Conduct and does not share prelaunch notifications as part of this mechanism.

The joint statement at the CD ‘calls on all relevant countries to commit to participate in arrangements for providing advance notification of launches of intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs), and space launch vehicles (SLVs) to affected states’ and refers to the HCoC as a possible means for these notifications. It is noteworthy that all countries supporting the statement are subscribing states.

The statement calls for advanced notifications of at least 24 hours and the inclusion of information such as ‘generic class of the ballistic missile or SLV, the planned launch notification window, the launch area, and the planned direction’. It notes that providing this information as well as adequate notice to airmen does not constrict military operations but reduce the risk of miscalculation.

The Chinese Ambassador to the CD rejected this statement as ‘political’ and indicated that China had provided some ad hoc notifications on a voluntary basis and could be considered held neither by this practice nor by the HCoC. It criticised the US’s own practices regarding missile notification.

The Hague Code of Conduct remains a unique multilateral instrument that allows subscribing states to share key information about their upcoming launches to other members on a safe and dedicated platforms. 145 countries are currently subscribing. While countries are encouraged to provide their notifications as early as possible, there is no clear deadline set and no firm definition of the SLV and ballistic missiles for which notifications are expected. The Code is compatible with additional bilateral or unilateral notification mechanisms. Thus, the United States and Russia have been fulfilling their own pre-notification agreement, dating back from 1988, alongside their HCoC obligations. Other operational bilateral data exchange include a Russia-China and India-Pakistan agreement.

The August 2026 joint statement illustrates that, in addition to being a key instrument of the WMD non-proliferation regime, the HCoC plays a central role in reducing risks linked to strategic systems.