China launched a ground-based midcourse missile interception test on Monday, the Defense Ministry said on Tuesday.

The launch fulfilled its mission and was for national defense, the ministry said, adding that the test was conducted in Chinese territory and did not target any country.

Monday's test was the first of its kind in four years. The last one occurred in July 2014. China began testing ground-based midcourse missile interception technology in 2010, and launched a similar test in 2013.

The ground-based midcourse defense system is mostly used to protect national territory from incoming long-range ballistic missiles during their midcourse phase of flight. The other two phases of flight are boosting and re-entry.

Midcourse interception is often regarded as the most difficult in the three flight phases because the incoming missile usually reaches its maximum speed and height during its flight above the atmosphere.