Chair of Pacific leaders meeting urges united front on China missile test

SYDNEY — The chair of the regional Pacific Islands Forum said on Thursday (Sept 3) he was hoping to gain consensus from member nations to condemn a Chinese missile test in the region, on the final day of a summit dominated by a dispute between Beijing and Taiwan.Surangel Whipps Jr, who is also the president of Palau, said he was hopeful the issue would be mentioned in a joint statement by the 18-nation bloc when the summit ends later on Thursday.”That’s definitely something that we’ll be discussing today, and a unified Pacific voice is critical in getting Beijing to respect sovereignty, to respect transparency, and to be a responsible partner,” he told a news conference.”We don’t want our backyard, our homes, to be threatened and really disrespected.”The July ballistic missile test by Beijing — its first known launch in the Pacific since September 2024 — came hours after Fiji and Australia signed a major defence treaty, marking Fiji’s first ever alliance.

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