Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has issued an unequivocal rebuke of China over its controversial ballistic missile tests in the Pacific, as regional leaders warn they will not tolerate their homes being “threatened and really disrespected”.
Speaking alongside Palau President Surangel Whipps Jr on the final day of the Pacific Islands Forum, Mr Albanese rejected comparisons between Chinese and US missile testing in the region.
“The situations are very different,” Mr Albanese said.
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“The US gives proper notice as an agreement with the Marshall Islands.
“What we saw with the Chinese tests was a firing of a missile with very little notice, certainly not what is expected internationally, from a submarine which went across and landed in the Pacific near Nauru, near Tuvalu, with no respect for those nations.”
The test has become a major security issue at the forum, after Pacific foreign ministers previously failed to reach consensus on a collective statement condemning Beijing.
Mr Whipps said Pacific nations deserved the same respect afforded to countries involved in US testing arrangements.
“They sent a missile next to French Polynesia, another one near Tuvalu, crossing over our airspace, they never bothered to tell us that that’s what’s happening,” he said.
“What about the rest of us in the Pacific, don’t we deserve the same?”
Mr Whipps questioned why China needed to conduct tests in the region at all.
“I said – I said there’s a lot of space between Japan and Guam, why don’t you send it there, why does it have to come to the middle of the Pacific when last year we sign add declaration of peace for the Pacific?”
“You know, we don’t want our … backyard, our homes, to be threatened and really disrespected.”
Asked whether Beijing had explained the short notice or whether the move was designed to intimidate, Mr Albanese refused to speculate.
“We made our position very clear, which is we are opposed to the actions that China took,” he said.
“We made an immediate response to that. It’s a clear response. It’s unequivocal and China has certainly heard that message.”
But China was not the only international power under scrutiny, with the Middle East conflict also looming over talks as Pacific nations grapple with their heavy reliance on imported fuel.
Mr Whipps described the war as a “wake-up call” that had exposed the region’s vulnerability and strengthened the case for renewable energy.
“We didn’t have any say in the war and it is happening,” he said.
“For the islands who have been saying that this is our number one issue, climate change, now we have people transitioning because it’s economic security, it’s energy security.”
“So I look at it in a way as a blessing. It’s a terrible – wars are terrible, but let’s look at what’s happening.”
Around 80 per cent of the Pacific’s energy is reliant on imported oil products, while some island nations spend between 10 and 25 per cent of GDP on fossil fuel imports.
Mr Albanese was also challenged over how Australia could reconcile a national economy built partly on fossil fuels with Pacific leaders pushing for a transition towards 100 per cent renewable energy.
“A lot of Australia’s wealth has been built through our resources. Australia is also undergoing change,” he said.
“We had in the December quarter over 50 per cent of our energy coming from renewables.”
The Prime Minister used an Australian-backed solar project in Palau as evidence of that transition, saying when fully operational it would provide 25 per cent of the island nation’s power needs.
Mr Whipps also defended Australia when questioned over its continued production of coal and gas, arguing the focus should be on reducing global demand.
“I don’t think we penalise countries that are producing oil and gas because people need it, we need to focus on is how do we reduce that need,” he said.
“Now, that’s what Australia is doing.”
