The
Prime Minister says it’s unacceptable China has tested
nuclear-capable weapons in the Pacific, and the government’s
expressed its concerns directly.
On Monday, China
test-launched a long-range
ballistic missile with a dummy warhead.
RNZ
understands the missile flew over the Exclusive Economic
Zones of the Federated States of Micronesia, Nauru, Tuvalu
and Kiribati, and landed in waters near Tuvalu and
Kiribati.
Luxon said that was unacceptable, unwelcome
and concerning.
“This is an intercontinental ballistic
missile test, the second that we’ve seen in recent years,
having not had one in the region for 40 years, from China,”
he said.
“We are living in a region that is proudly
nuclear free … we don’t want to see increasing
militarisation in our region.”
China’s activity was
legal, but inconsistent with Pacific values and the region
would strongly push back against it, Luxon said.
“We
have expressed our concerns [with China] very directly and
very clearly,” he said.
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The missile firing came
shortly after a new defence treaty was signed between
Australia and Fiji.
Luxon said he had spoken with both
countries’ Prime Ministers about the agreement and Cabinet
was discussing whether New Zealand might join
it.
Cabinet was very interested in exploring
participation but there was a way to go yet, given it had
only just been signed, Luxon said.
China says it has
acted legally
China insists the test missile
test it carried out was a routine arrangement and
consistent with international law.
While a Chinese
foreign ministry spokesperson said, “we hope relevant
countries will not read too much into it”, Foreign Affairs
Minister Winston Peters described the launch as being “at
odds with the spirit and intent” of the
Pacific.
Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao
Ning told a press conference in Beijing the test was a
“routine arrangement” in China’s annual military training
programme.
“It is consistent with international law
and customary international practice and is not directed at
any specific country or target,” she said.
Asked by
AFP whether she had any response to the criticism from
countries like New Zealand, Japan, and Australia, Mao
repeated her earlier comment, but added the countries
concerned were informed prior to the launch.
“The
whole process was safe, standard and professional. We hope
relevant countries will not read too much into
it.”
But on Monday, Peters said while New Zealand had
been informed, China carried out the test “within
hours”.
Peters said the Pacific was an Ocean of Peace,
and the launch was “not consistent” with regional stability
and peace in the South Pacific.
“This
missile was fired into the South Pacific Nuclear Free Zone
established by the Treaty of Rarotonga. China’s action goes
against the object and intent of that Treaty.”
RNZ
understands the missile test warning from China was
delivered to Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade officials
by Chinese embassy officials in Wellington and likewise, in
Beijing, New Zealand’s defence attaché was notified by
Chinese counterparts.
Upon receiving the warning, New
Zealand immediately relayed its concerns to both the embassy
in Wellington and officials in Beijing.
However, the
test went ahead a short time later.
Peters is in
Singapore and flies to Japan later on Tuesday.
He will
meet with Japan’s Defence Minister Shinjiro Koizumi and
Foreign Affairs Minister Toshimitsu Motegi on Friday, where
the China missile testing is expected to be front and centre
of their talks.
Labour leader Chris Hipkins said the
test was unwelcome.
“That’s a very concerning
development. We want to see the Pacific stay an ocean of
peace, and China’s testing of their ballistic missile
capability in the Pacific is very unwelcome.”
Green
Party foreign affairs spokesperson Teanau Tuiono said the
party did not like any ballistic missiles being launched
into New Zealand’s backyard.
“People talk about an
Ocean of Peace, and I think that’s a good thing. So we
should try to make the Pacific a place of peace, but that
would require us to commit to demilitarisation, to actually
commit to peace, and making sure that we’re very clear to
particularly the big powers, the US, China, and whoever
else, that that is what’s important for the
Pacific.”
He called for consistency from the
government, saying the United States also launched ICMBs
into the Pacific.
“I do see this as part of that
geo-strategic competition within the Pacific as well, and
because of that I think we also need to be consistent,” he
said.
“So whether China does it or whether the US does
it, we always need to make sure that we draw the attention
to our own nuclear-free status as well, the importance of
being nuclear-free in the Pacific, important movements like
the nuclear-free and independent Pacific, the Treaty of
Rarotonga, and how for many Pacific island nations that
nuclear testing and nuclear waste dumping is actually still
a very real issue.”
US monitored test
launch
The United States Department of State issued a
statement saying it had kept an eye on the test
launch.
It was steadfast in its defence commitments to
allies and partners, said spokesperson Thomas
Pigott.
“At a time when the United States is working
harder than ever to prevent nuclear proliferation, China is
doing the opposite,” he said.
“Beijing’s rapid and
opaque nuclear weapons buildup is of great concern to the
region and the world.
“We continue to urge China to
engage in meaningful arms control discussions and commit to
a regularized notification arrangement for all
intercontinental-range ballistic missile and space launches
consistent with commitments made by all other P5
members.”
P5 refers to the five permanent members of
the United Nations Security Council: China, France, Russia,
the United Kingdom, and the United
States.
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