A group of Pacific nations is advocating for a formal denunciation of China following its missile test conducted in the region in July.
Australia and Palau are urging Pacific leaders to issue a robust statement condemning this action, although nations such as Kiribati and Naoero express skepticism about singling out China.
Discussions regarding this matter are scheduled to take place today in Palau.
During today’s meeting, Australia and Palau intend to persuade other Pacific leaders to clearly condemn China’s recent ballistic missile test, countering arguments made by Kiribati and Naoero that it is unjust to target Beijing specifically.
The Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) assembly wraps up today in Palau, where leaders are convening for their annual retreat at a residence owned by President Surangel Whipps Jr.’s family.
Several Pacific nations issued unusually strong critiques of China after a submarine from the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) launched a missile with a dummy warhead over 7,000 kilometers into the Pacific, landing just outside Tuvalu’s Exclusive Economic Zone.
However, Kiribati and Naoero declined to support a collective statement regarding the missile test at last month’s PIF Foreign Ministers Meeting, causing dissatisfaction in Canberra and Wellington.
Kiribati’s President Taneti Maamau informed his parliament last month that while his nation had expressed concerns to Beijing about the missile test, he believed it would be unfair to criticize China without addressing similar actions by the United States, which has also conducted missile tests in the Republic of the Marshall Islands.
“We are attempting to maintain fairness,” he stated. “America has been conducting bomb tests … in the Marshall Islands, which are in close proximity to us. Why are we not questioning or criticizing America?”
In response, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told reporters in Palau that such comparisons are flawed. “The circumstances are distinctly different,” Mr. Albanese remarked, noting that the United States provides proper notification and has agreements with the Marshall Islands.
“What occurred with the Chinese test involved a missile launched with minimal notice, certainly not aligning with international expectations, from a submarine that crossed into the Pacific near Naoero and Tuvalu, without regard for those nations,” he added.
While the outcome of the sensitive negotiations remains uncertain, Australia has expressed growing pessimism about achieving a consensus on a definitive statement.
Last month, Pacific ministers made a brief reference to the missile test in their joint communique, calling for “transparency and reassurance” regarding nuclear testing and acknowledging that several Pacific countries were troubled by China’s actions.
President Surangel Whipps Jr., who has been a prominent critic of China in the region, emphasized the importance of a unified stance among Pacific nations on this issue and stated that comparisons to the Republic of the Marshall Islands are not valid. “The United States maintains an agreement with the Marshall Islands. They provide notification and indicate where it is going,” he said, questioning, “What about the rest of us in the Pacific? Don’t we deserve the same?”
He also suggested that China’s choice to conduct the missile test deep in the South Pacific, rather than further north, was intended to be provocative. “There is ample space between Japan and Guam—why not send it there?” he questioned. “Why must it be in the middle of the Pacific? We do not want our home, our backyard, to be threatened and disrespected.”
In response to the concerns raised, Lin Jian, spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, dismissed the claims as “baseless, malicious, and unworthy of further commentary.”
