Pacific ministers fail to agree on China missile response

By Lucy Craymer and Christine Chen

SUVA, Fiji, ‌Aug 7 (Reuters) - Pacific Island ​foreign ministers failed ​to agree on Friday to a joint response to China's missile launch in July, with further discussions expected at the Pacific leaders meeting at the end of August.

China's test-firing of a missile into the Pacific alarmed ‌regional powers but failed to spur a unified response from Pacific Island governments, underscoring divisions over how ⁠to confront growing strategic competition in the region.

Many of the foreign ministers and senior officials from the 18 countries represented at the Pacific Islands Forum meeting in ‌Suva expressed concern to Reuters about the ‌missile test.

Pacific Islands Forum Secretary General Baron Waqa said China's missile test was discussed by ministers "at quite some length". While everyone wanted a statement out, there were disagreements over what it should contain, he said.

"There are mixed feelings on how the statement ​should be formatted, whether just to make an outright statement particularly on that single incident, but there are other ideas that it should be a general statement covering any tests in the Pacific," Waqa said at a media conference after the ⁠meeting.

New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters told reporters that two members had refused to sign on to the statement, without giving a clear reason. He would not name the ​two countries.

An official with knowledge of the discussions said it was Kiribati and Nauru. Kiribati moved to recognise China in 2019 and Nauru followed suit in 2024, severing ties with Taipei.

But Waqa said ​neither Kiribati nor Nauru blocked the statement.

"They just honestly placed their position ‌so that others can consider and see how best they can all contribute," he said. "So it's not easy, but there's no blocking."

The ministers decided more time was needed to negotiate on the text that ⁠could be considered by leaders at the next Pacific Islands Forum leaders meeting in Palau, Deputy Secretary General Esala Nayasi added.

As geopolitical tensions have increased in the region, leaders have called for unity in their response. Pacific leaders backed an "Ocean of Peace" declaration last year to maintain peace amid ⁠intensifying strategic competition. However, the lack of a statement shows divisions remain.

China has expanded its influence in the Pacific in recent years through infrastructure ​financing, diplomatic outreach and security cooperation, which has prompted concern among traditional partners including Australia, New Zealand and the United States.

Peters said some countries were being influenced by those outside the region. He would not name the country he believed was influencing Pacific countries to not sign the statement.

"The Pacific ‌is a blue continent, peaceful, secure and that our job as the temporary servants serving these people is to make sure it stays that way," he said.

At the opening of the meeting, Rick ‌Houenipwela, the foreign minister of the Solomon Islands and chair of the meeting, told those gathered that the Pacific's agenda must continue to be "conceived ⁠by the Pacific, shaped by the Pacific and only ‌by the Pacific".

Even as the strategic environment ​became more complex, Houenipwela added, the response should avoid fragmentation or division.

Instead, he said, it "should create regional solidarity, strong consensus, and continue confidence."

(Reporting by Lucy Craymer and Christine Chen; Editing by Clarence Fernandez, Stephen Coates ‌and Saad Sayeed)

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