Regional defence leaders are continuing to meet in Auckland as the Pacific faces increased geopolitical tension, including pushback against China.
The South Pacific Defence Ministers’ Meeting (SPDMM) is in its eleventh year with defence ministers and representatives from New Zealand, Australia, Papua New Guinea, Fiji, Tonga, Chili and France attending along with Japan, the US and UK which hold observer status.
For the first time the Pacific Islands Forum Secretary General Baron Waqa has also been invited and he told 1News geopolitics in the Pacific is “getting out of hand”.
There’s rising condemnation from Pacific leaders after China test-fired a nuclear-capable missile with a dummy warhead into the Pacific.
Waqa said the test was extremely disappointing.
“It’s not just a small missile just fired into the Pacific … yes, leaders are very concerned about that.”
Speaking at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), Fiji’s President Ratu Wiliame Katonivere condemned the test, saying “we urge respect for our region and call for cessation for such action”.
It’s understood the Intercontinental Ballistic Missile landed within Kiribati’s exclusive economic zone, less than two hundred nautical miles from the uninhabited Millennium (Caroline) atoll.
There’s questions over whether the Kiribati Government, which has close ties to China, had agreed to the test.
The U.S once held sovereignty over Caroline Island and some of the other atolls but handed them back in a Treaty of Friendship. That Treaty states any military use by third parties of the affected islands shall be the subject of consultation between the US and Kiribati.
New Zealand Defence Minister Judith Collins said the region was facing very difficult and challenging times from a geopolitical perspective.
“It’s been 44 years since China decided to send an Intercontinental Ballistic Missile into the Pacific. People need to understand we do not live in a benign strategic environment, we live in a time of great geopolitical tension.”
Associate professor for Defence and Security at Massey University Anna Powles said leaders across the region would be asking why this took place in the Pacific, especially given that China has in the past spoken out against the legacies of nuclear testing.
“China has criticised the U.S and France, for example, for having conducted testing in the Pacific. It really seems at odds on the one hand China’s narrative towards the Pacific and on the other hand these actions.”
As well as looking at geopolitical challenges, SPDMM members were also looking at other security issues like drug trafficking, illegal fishing and disaster relief. Collins said building partnerships was key.
“It is absolutely crucial in these uncertain times that we remember who our friends are and we remember who is always there for us.”
SPDMM concludes today.