China missile test deepens Pacific divide over growing militarization
Pacific Islands foreign ministers have been unable to agree on a collective statement condemning Beijing's missile test, despite individual leaders expressing alarm.
The headquarters for the Pacific Islands Forum in Suva, Fiji, on Friday | REUTERS
Aug 11, 2026
SUVA, Fiji – China’s test of a nuclear-capable missile last month has exposed the limits of Pacific leaders’ ambition to make the region an “Ocean of Peace,” free from the crossfire of major-power rivalry.
The July launch, China’s first known ballistic-missile test into the Pacific since September 2024, was fired into the Pacific just hours after Fiji and Australia signed a major defense treaty, marking Fiji’s first ever alliance.
More than a month after the test, Pacific Islands foreign ministers were unable to agree on a collective statement condemning Beijing’s missile test, despite individual leaders expressing alarm, publicly and privately, about militarization of the region.
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