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🇸🇬 Singapore /Conflict & Security

Pacific leaders’ chair seeks united front against Chinese missile test

From The Straits Times · () English

Translated from English and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

Newswire Named sources Ongoing story
  • Pacific Islands Forum chair Surangel Whipps Jr. said he sought consensus on condemning China’s July ballistic missile test in the Pacific.
  • The summit has been dominated by China’s objections to Taiwan’s participation, while several Pacific leaders sent junior ministers instead of attending.
  • A foreign ministers’ meeting last month failed to agree on a condemnation, and China said the missile test was conducted safely.

Palau President Surangel Whipps Jr. wants the Pacific Islands Forum to speak with one voice against China’s ballistic missile test in the region. As chair of the 18-member bloc, he said he hoped the issue would appear in the summit’s joint statement on Thursday.

“That’s definitely something that we’ll be discussing today, and a unified Pacific voice is critical in getting Beijing to respect sovereignty, to respect transparency, and to be a responsible partner,” Whipps told a news conference. “We don’t want our backyard, our homes, to be threatened and really disrespected.”

That’s definitely something that we’ll be discussing today, and a unified Pacific voice is critical in getting Beijing to respect sovereignty, to respect transparency, and to be a responsible partner.

· Surangel Whipps Jr.The Pacific Islands Forum chair described the need for a joint response to China’s missile test.

The July launch marked Beijing’s first known ballistic missile test in the Pacific since September 2024. It came hours after Fiji and Australia signed a major defense treaty, Fiji’s first alliance of that kind. Pacific foreign ministers failed to agree on a statement condemning the test last month, although leaders had voiced concern publicly and privately about the region’s militarization. China says the launch was conducted safely.

We don’t want our backyard, our homes, to be threatened and really disrespected.

· Surangel Whipps Jr.Whipps explained his concern about the security implications of militarization in the Pacific.

The summit in Palau has also been overshadowed by Beijing’s opposition to Taiwan’s presence. China says Taiwan is not qualified to attend and claims the democratically governed island as its territory, while Taiwan rejects that claim and says its people must decide their future. Palau is one of three Pacific island countries that maintain official diplomatic ties with Taiwan.

The dispute has coincided with the absence of several regional leaders. The prime ministers of Fiji, Vanuatu, Samoa and the Solomon Islands, along with Kiribati’s president, sent lower-ranking ministers instead. New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters said he was “highly suspicious” that foreign interference might explain some absences, without directly accusing Beijing. China’s Foreign Ministry called the comments unfounded.

highly suspicious

· Winston PetersNew Zealand’s foreign minister described his view of possible foreign interference behind some leaders’ absences.
About this summary

Originally published by The Straits Times in English. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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