The Pacific Islands Forum has issued a statement expressing concern over a recent intercontinental ballistic missile test. China was not named in the document, and Nauru distanced itself from the statement. According to the South China Morning Post, in early July China for the first time launched a test missile from a nuclear submarine toward the South Pacific. The publication notes that the missile is capable of carrying nuclear warheads.
Differences in the region
The leaders of Tuvalu, Palau and the Solomon Islands sharply criticized the launch. At the same time, the Pacific Islands Forum, which brings together 18 members, initially failed to agree on a joint statement. Later, foreign ministers also failed to reach agreement on criticizing Beijing: according to the publication, Kiribati and Nauru refused to approve it.
Kiribati previously stated that singling out China would be unfair, as the United States regularly tests such missiles near the Marshall Islands. In March, the United States launched a Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile from California; it fell near the Marshall Islands after traveling 6,700 kilometers. Since 2021, the United States has conducted at least 15 ballistic missile launches in the Pacific, SCMP notes.
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Historical and security context
The article also recalls that from 1946 to 1996, the United States, the United Kingdom and France conducted more than 300 nuclear tests in the Pacific, including in French Polynesia and the Marshall Islands. Their consequences included radioactive contamination, population displacement, high cancer rates and traumatic experiences for several generations.
Former New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark warned that Wellington’s more active conclusion of security agreements in the Pacific could weaken the country’s tradition of an independent foreign policy. In her view, Australia’s intention to acquire nuclear submarines under AUKUS does not contribute to preserving the Pacific as a nuclear-free zone.
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