Australia and Palau said they would press Pacific Islands Forum leaders on Sept. 3 to issue a clear condemnation of China’s July ballistic missile test, as leaders held their annual retreat in Palau.
A People’s Liberation Army Navy submarine in the South China Sea fired a missile with a dummy warhead more than 7,000 kilometres into the Pacific, landing just outside Tuvalu’s Exclusive Economic Zone. Kiribati and Naoero refused to back a joint statement on the test at the PIF Foreign Ministers Meeting last month.
Kiribati President Taneti Maamau told his parliament that comparing China’s test to U.S. tests in the Marshall Islands, he asked why Pacific nations do not criticise America. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese rejected the comparison in Palau, saying the U.S. gives proper notice and has an agreement with the Marshall Islands, while China’s test was fired with very little notice from a submarine and landed near Naoero and Tuvalu.
Palau President Surangel Whipps Jr said a unified Pacific response was critical and that Beijing had threatened and disrespected the region. China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun accused Palau of seeking to “sensationalise” the missile test and of trying to hold other forum members “hostage” to its position.
Sources: ABC News; The Straits Times.
