China, Taiwan stoush, missile test loom large over Pacific talks

The Pacific Islands Forum chairman and Palau President says China “never bothered” to inform his country of a controversial ballistic missile test earlier this year as Anthony Albanese prepares to leave the multi-day summit that was overshadowed by relations with Beijing.

President Surangel Whipps Jr, who has ruled Palau since 2021, said he would discuss the July 6 test during the final two days of the forum.

“A unified Pacific voice is critical in getting Beijing to respect sovereignty, to respect transparency, and to be a responsible partner,” Mr Whipps said.

“So, it’s important that we have a unified position and we’ll work on that.”

Mr Whipps said Beijing “never bothered to tell us” about the missile, which crossed Palau airspace, and noted an agreement between the Marshall Islands and the US about missile tests conducted there.

“What about the rest of us in the Pacific? Don’t we deserve the same?” Mr Whipps said.

“There’s a lot of space between Japan and Guam. Why don’t you send it there? Why does it have to come to the middle of the Pacific?

“We don’t want our backyard, our homes to be threatened, and, really, disrespectful.”

Anthony Albanese, who was in the region after signing a landmark agreement with Fiji at the time of the test, said China, unlike the US, gave “very little notice”.

“(That is) certainly not what is expected internationally, from a submarine which went across and landed in the Pacific, near Nauru, near Tuvalu, with no respect for those nations,” he said.

“That is why I brought such a strong response from the Pacific, including from Australia.”

Mr Albanese has sought to position Australia as a regional partner to Pacific nations that supports Pacific-led initiatives rather than drives them.

He said a solar energy project in Palau was “a practical and clear example of the difference that Australia is able to make due to our support for our Pacific family, making a difference based upon the priorities that are set in the Pacific, respecting their sovereignty of these nations, but doing what we can to make a difference to the lives of people in the Pacific”.

However, the Pacific Island Forum has been overshadowed by the “permanent contest” between Australia and China in the region.