China yesterday reacted mildly to Japan's successful test of a shipborne ballistic missile defence system, despite Beijing's longstanding concern that such shields could undermine regional stability.

The Japanese navy said it shot down a dummy ballistic missile in the first successful test of its kind by a US ally, bringing Japan a step closer to deploying anti-missile defences. The test was conducted on Monday, or early yesterday Japan time, off the Hawaiian island of Kauai by a Japanese destroyer equipped with the US Aegis combat system.