Koror City, Palau: Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and the chair of the Pacific Islands Forum have rejected any equivalence between American and Chinese missile-testing in the Pacific as they struggle to convince regional leaders to unite in condemnation of Beijing’s recent ballistic missile testing.
Albanese, who will return to Australia from Palau on Thursday afternoon, said China had shown “no respect” to Pacific nations by firing a nuclear-capable missile in their direction with minimal notice.
Albanese said in July the Pacific Islands Forum was drafting a “very strong” joint statement condemning China’s surprise missile test-firing, but division within the grouping has prevented a forceful statement from being issued.
As he prepared to host Pacific leaders at his family home for a private retreat before concluding this year’s forum, Palau’s President Surangel Whipps Jr said he believed it was “important that we have a unified position” about China’s missile testing activities.
Echoing his remarks in a recent interview with this masthead, Whipps said: “A unified Pacific voice is critical in getting Beijing to respect sovereignty, to respect transparency, and to be a responsible partner. I think that’s the message that we should send to Beijing.”
But there was little expectation that the official communiqué for this year’s leaders meeting will include any severe criticism of Beijing, even though the July test caused widespread alarm and triggered rebukes throughout the Pacific.
Pacific foreign ministers called for “transparency and reassurance” on missile testing in the region in a watered-down statement issued last month that did not directly criticise China.
The fact that the US regularly test-fires its own missiles into the region, mostly from California towards a testing range in the Marshall Islands, has hampered efforts to convince leaders to agree to a powerful joint statement.
Kiribati’s President Taneti Maamau told his nation’s parliament in August that while he was “not happy” with China over its test, he could not turn a blind eye to missile testing by the US and other countries.
Albanese told reporters on Thursday that “the situations are very different”, arguing: “The US gives proper notice, has an agreement with the Marshall Islands. What we saw with the Chinese test was a firing of a missile with very little notice.”
He also noted China had fired its missile from a nuclear-powered submarine towards Nauru and Tuvalu “with no respect for those nations, and that is why it brought such a strong response from the Pacific, including from Australia”.
Kiribati and Nauru have been singled out for blocking a stronger statement because of fear of angering China.
Standing in front of a solar power plant co-funded by Australia, Whipps backed Albanese, saying: “The United States has an agreement with the Marshall Islands. They notify and they say it’s going there. What about the rest of us in the Pacific? Don’t we deserve the same? As I have said, there’s a there’s a lot of space between Japan and Guam. Why don’t you send it there?”
Whipps has strongly defended Taiwan’s right to participate in the Pacific Islands Forum as a development partner despite strong protestations from China.
The early days of the summit were overshadowed by a warning from China’s Pacific envoy that there would be “consequences” for Taiwan’s strong representation at this year’s event.
Whipps said maintaining the longstanding principle that both China and Taiwan can attend the forum as partners was “keeping the Pacific together because we respect each other’s sovereignty, we respect each other’s partnerships and we should maintain that because we are one family”.
Palau, a former US territory, is one of the few nations left in the world that continues to formally recognise Taiwan rather than Beijing.
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Matthew Knott is the foreign affairs and national security correspondent for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.Connect via X, Facebook or email.From our partners
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