Pacific nations divided over China missile test

SUVA, Fiji

Diplomats of the Pacific Islands countries attend a meeting in Fiji. (AFP Photo)

Pacific diplomats gathered in Fiji failed on Aug. 7 to agree on a joint statement condemning China’s recent test of a nuclear-capable missile in the region, with New Zealand’s foreign minister accusing them of appeasing “outsiders.”

Beijing gave only a handful of nations short notice before test-firing an intercontinental ballistic missile last month, flexing its military might in a region where it has long sought to expand its reach.

The rocket appeared to land in a patch of ocean somewhere between Solomon Islands, Nauru and Tuvalu, monitors have said.

It sparked condemnation from multiple Pacific leaders, but the 18-member Pacific Islands Forum is yet to issue a formal response to the test.

New Zealand’s outspoken Foreign Minister Winston Peters said following an hours-long meeting the group had failed to agree on a joint statement condemning the launch.

He did not name the two member states that had blocked the statement, but China-friendly nations Kiribati and Nauru are understood to have had little interest in formally criticizing one of their major partners.

“They didn’t actually lay out any reasons apart from their disagreement,” Peters told journalists.

He accused them of appeasing “outside partners’ wishes, rather than those that belong to the Pacific Islands Forum.”

“We made it very clear that we do not think that outsiders should be telling the insiders what our position should be,” he added.