China conducted a rare test-launch of a long-range submarine-launched ballistic missile into the Pacific Ocean on Monday, drawing immediate condemnation from neighboring nations including Australia, New Zealand, and Japan.
The test occurred just hours after Australia signed a new defense pact with Fiji, though officials noted the launch was not believed to be a direct response to the security agreement.
China Defends Test as Routine
Chinese military officials defended the operation as a standard training exercise that complied with international frameworks.
Senior Capt.
Wang Xuemeng, a spokesperson for the PLA Navy, said the missile carried a dummy warhead and landed precisely within designated waters.
He noted that the military notified regional nations ahead of the launch schedule.
“This test launch was a routine part of China’s annual military training schedule,” Wang said, emphasizing that the exercise did not target any geopolitical rivals.
Following the launch, China's Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning urged neighboring governments to remain calm and avoid misinterpreting the military exercises.
“The related launch activity was conducted in a safe, regulated, and professional manner, and we hope that certain countries will refrain from overinterpreting them,” Mao said.
Regional Leaders Voice Concern
Pacific leaders expressed deep concern over the missile's trajectory into protected waters and the lack of broader transparency from Beijing.
New Zealand Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters stated the missile entered the South Pacific Nuclear Free Zone, established by the 1986 Treaty of Rarotonga.
He recalled similar tensions from a previous Chinese intercontinental ballistic missile test in September 2024.
“We as a region should not sit by and allow such tests to become normalized or routine,” Peters said.
Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong, speaking from the Fijian capital of Suva, characterized the test as destabilizing amid China's rapid military expansion.
The test must be viewed “in the context of a rapid military build-up by China, which is lacking in the transparency and reassurance as to intent that the region expects,” Wong said.
Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles confirmed that Canberra received advance notice hours before the launch.
He said Australia is “very concerned about any actions which undermine the stability, the peace, and security of the Pacific.”
Meanwhile, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese formalized the Ocean of Peace Alliance treaty with Fiji, expanding Canberra's regional security network.
Albanese committed over $1 billion over the next decade toward Fiji's infrastructure, health, and anti-crime measures.
Fijian Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka maintained that the security agreement would not harm Fiji's diplomatic relations with Beijing, calling it a “defining moment” in bilateral ties.
“It does not threaten Fiji's relationship with China nor Australia's relationship with China,” Rabuka said.
