Pacific churches have expressed concern over recent US military strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities.
The attack using bomber aircraft and submarines using Pacific routes as part of a deception effort to confuse Iran and its allies.
“This act of geopolitical theatre—executed without consultation or regional consent—violates the principles of transparency, sovereignty, and peace to which the Pacific is committed,’’ said Reverend James Bhagwan, General Secretary of the Pacific Conference of Churches.
“It reflects a growing pattern of external militarisation that undermines the region’s foundational peace architecture—especially the Treaty of Rarotonga and the collective vision for an Ocean of Peace.
“The Pacific cannot be a pawn in global warfare.’’ Bhagwan said the use of Pacific skies and islands for secretive military strikes was a betrayal of the values enshrined in the Treaty of Rarotonga and a direct threat to the Pacific’s collective spiritual and ecological security.
“The use of Pacific territory and airspace in a nuclear-adjacent operation—potentially involving weapons delivery systems and launched in deception—calls the integrity of this treaty into question. It risks turning Pacific states and territories into involuntary accomplices in violations of international law and provocations of future war,” Bhagwan said.