WASHINGTON (REUTERS) - The United States military on Tuesday (Aug 16) said it carried out a test of a Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile that had been delayed to avoid escalating tensions with Beijing during China's show of force near Taiwan earlier this month.

China deployed scores of planes and fired live missiles in the Taiwan Strait after US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi made a trip to the self-ruled island.

China considers Taiwan part of its territory and has never renounced using force to bring it under its control.

The test showed "the readiness of US nuclear forces and provides confidence in the lethality and effectiveness of the nation's nuclear deterrent", a US military statement said.

The re-entry vehicle travelled about 6,760km and was launched from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. The military said about 300 such tests were carried out previously, and that it was not the result of any specific global event.

The test suggests that Washington is less worried about the situation escalating around Taiwan, in the short-term at least.

US President Joe Biden's administration has said it will continue to carry out routine air and naval operations in the Taiwan Strait in the coming weeks.

China's military said it carried out more exercises near Taiwan on Monday (Aug 15), as a group of US lawmakers visited the Chinese-claimed island and met President Tsai Ing-wen, who said her government was committed to maintaining stability.

The US military also cancelled a test of its Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile in April. That delay had aimed to lower nuclear tensions with Russia during the ongoing war in Ukraine.

The nuclear-capable Minuteman III, made by Boeing, is key to the US military's strategic arsenal. The missile has a range of 9,660km and can travel at a speed of approximately 24,000 kmh. Missiles are dispersed in hardened underground silos operated by launch crews.