China missile test deepens Pacific divide over growing militarisation

China’s last month’s nuclear-capable missile test has intensified divisions among Pacific leaders trying to sell the region as an “Ocean of Peace.” The July launch—China’s first known ballistic-missile test into the Pacific since September 2024—came just hours after Fiji and Australia signed a major defence treaty, Fiji’s first alliance. More than a month later, Pacific Islands foreign ministers meeting in Suva could not agree on a joint statement condemning Beijing’s move, though leaders individually expressed alarm. Papua New Guinea’s foreign minister Justin Tkatchenko called the test “totally inappropriate,” despite advance notice but no target details. China’s foreign ministry said it was “safe” and urged countries not to over-interpret it.