The missile was launched on July 6, marking China’s first publicly acknowledged submarine-launched ballistic-missile test into the Pacific.
The test came just hours after Australia and Fiji signed a landmark mutual defence treaty, known as the Ocean of Peace Alliance, highlighting the region’s increasingly complex security environment.
Despite concerns raised by several Pacific leaders, the region’s foreign ministers failed to reach agreement on a joint statement responding to the Chinese missile launch during their meeting in Suva last week.
Papua New Guinea’s Foreign Minister, Justin Tkatchenko, described the test as “totally inappropriate”, arguing that it did little to support efforts to preserve peace in the Pacific.
Tkatchenko said China, which maintains close relations with Papua New Guinea, had informed Port Moresby ahead of the launch but did not provide details on where the missile would eventually land.
China defended the exercise, saying it was part of a routine military training programme conducted safely and in accordance with international law.
Beijing also urged countries not to over-interpret the test.
The launch comes as military activity expands across the Pacific, with China, the United States and their allies competing for greater strategic influence in the region.
Chinese naval deployments and military exercises have coincided with drills involving the United States and its allies around Guam and Hawaii, while Australia has expanded defence cooperation with Pacific Island nations.
The United States maintains significant military facilities and personnel across the Pacific, including in Hawaii, Guam and the Marshall Islands.
The growing number of military exercises and security agreements has raised concerns among Pacific officials that the region’s long-standing ambition to remain an “Ocean of Peace” could be undermined.
Tuvalu’s Permanent Foreign Secretary, Pasuna Tuaga, expressed concern over increasing militarisation, pointing not only to China’s missile test but also to security arrangements such as AUKUS, the defence partnership between Australia, Britain and the United States.
Pacific leaders endorsed the Ocean of Peace Declaration in September 2025, committing to protecting regional peace and strengthening international security while recognising Pacific peoples’ right to peace.
David Peebles of the Australian National University’s Pacific Security College said Pacific nations had historically resisted having their security priorities determined by larger external powers.
He described the Ocean of Peace initiative as an effort by Pacific countries to take greater ownership of their regional security agenda.
The declaration came before the defence agreement signed by Australia and Fiji on July 6.
Under the Ocean of Peace Alliance, Australia and Fiji have committed to supporting each other in times of need, making it Fiji’s first formal defence alliance.
Supporters argue that such partnerships could provide practical benefits, including disaster response, surveillance against illegal fishing, policing and access to military training and equipment.
Critics, however, fear that expanding defence partnerships could contribute to further militarisation and weaken Pacific nations’ control over their territory and infrastructure.
Solomon Islands Foreign Minister Rick Houenipwela, who chaired the Suva meeting, said decisions affecting the region should remain “conceived by the Pacific, shaped by the Pacific and only by the Pacific”.
The meeting, however, ended without a collective response to China’s missile test.
Kiribati and Nauru, which strengthened diplomatic relations with Beijing after switching recognition from Taiwan in 2019 and 2024 respectively, did not support aspects of the proposed statement, according to officials familiar with the discussions.
New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters attributed the failure to reach consensus to outside influence, although he did not identify any particular country.
The disagreement highlights the difficult choices confronting Pacific Island governments, which have different economic, political and security priorities.
While some countries favour closer security cooperation with Australia, New Zealand and the United States, others remain cautious about becoming more deeply involved with major military powers.
Fiji Foreign Minister Sakiasi Ditoka acknowledged the dilemma, saying Pacific governments wanted to avoid becoming entangled in military preparations while recognising that certain security capabilities could help protect them.
Fiji also participated for the first time in the Rim of the Pacific, or RIMPAC, military exercise last month.
The US-led exercise brings together military forces from countries across the Pacific and beyond, further underscoring the region’s growing role in wider strategic competition.
Pacific leaders are expected to revisit China’s missile test, regional security and divisions over militarisation when they gather in Palau later this month for the Pacific Islands Forum leaders’ meeting.
Goodness Anunobi
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