16 of 18 Pacific States Condemn China's ICBM Test — SkimNews
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- Pacific Island Forum — 16 of 18 member states endorsed a joint statement expressing "concern on the recent intercontinental ballistic missile test which overflew a number of members without adequate notice," with only Nauru and Kiribati, both close to Beijing, declining to sign.
- China launched the ICBM on July 6 from a nuclear-powered submarine in the South China Sea; the missile traveled more than 4,300 miles and landed in international waters in the South Pacific, prompting a mid-August statement from Australia, New Zealand, Palau, the Marshall Islands, the U.S., and more than 30 other nations calling the test "dangerous."
- Palau President Surangel Whipps Jr. said a "unified Pacific voice is critical in getting Beijing to respect sovereignty, to respect transparency and to be a responsible partner," while rebuffing Chinese pressure over Taiwan's prominent role at the summit.
- Chinese Special Envoy for Pacific Islands Affairs Qian Bo warned there "will always be consequences" when Taiwan receives favorable treatment, after Taiwanese aid was prominently displayed at the Palau-hosted summit—one of only three Pacific states still recognizing Taipei.
- The United States announced an economic assistance package of more than $150 million at the PIF summit covering energy security, infrastructure, digital development, law enforcement, and scientific cooperation.
- Australia signed the "Ocean of Peace Alliance" mutual defense treaty with Fiji on the same day as the July ICBM test, and earlier sealed the Nakamal Agreement with Vanuatu (June 29), which prohibits any foreign military base or infrastructure on Vanuatu.
- China's defense spending rose 13-fold over 30 years, from $25.1 billion in 1995 to an estimated $247 billion in 2025 (constant 2023 dollars), while its nuclear warhead arsenal doubled in the past six years, according to CSIS.
Why it matters: The 16-2 rebuke gives smaller Pacific nations rare collective leverage against Beijing, but the surrounding choreography—Australia's expanding mutual-defense pacts with Fiji and Vanuatu and Washington's $150 million-plus aid package announced in Palau—shows Western powers are moving quickly to lock in a counter-China alignment in a region China has spent years cultivating diplomatically.
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