The Pacific Island nation of Kiribati has issued rare criticism of China over last month’s launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), saying the Pacific is not “isolated pockets of ocean” and it “does not welcome” Beijing’s action.
Kiribati, a Pacific Ocean neighbour of Hawaii with a vast exclusive economic zone of 3.6 million square kilometers has developed close ties to Beijing, including hosting Chinese police.
China conducted a rare launch of an ICBM with a dummy war head on Sept. 25 that landed in the Pacific Ocean, which Beijing said was for weapons testing and training, and nations including Fiji, Australia and New Zealand have said was concerning.
Photo: Reuters
Kiribati did not receive notice from China about the missile launch, the Kiribati President’s Office said in a statement on social media.
It was told by the Chinese embassy there was no need to alert Kiribati because the test was not meant to target any nation in the Pacific, the statement added.
“Kiribati does not welcome China’s recent ICBM test,” the statement said.
It also criticized other unnamed nations for past weapons tests.
“The high seas in the Pacific are not isolated pockets of oceans, they are part of our Blue Pacific Continent and are parts of Kiribati and therefore we appeal to all countries involved in weapon testing to stop these acts to maintain world peace and stability,” it added.
The 18 members of the Pacific Islands Forum, while small in land size and population, have a vast combined maritime zone they refer to as the Blue Pacific Continent and decades ago declared the region a nuclear-free zone.
Strategic competition between China and the US in the region has risen after Beijing struck a security pact with the Solomon Islands in 2022.
China, seeking to redevelop a disused US World War II airfield in Kiribati, has become a major development partner to the atoll nation since it switched diplomatic ties from Taiwan in 2019.
Kiribati is to hold a direct vote for president this month, where all four candidates are from incumbent Kiribati President Taneti Maamau’s Tobwaan Kiribati Party.
Opposition leader Tessie Lambourne has criticized Maamau’s closeness to China, and the absence of any opposition candidates in the presidential election. Kiribati held parliamentary elections in August.
The president’s office did not respond to a request for comment.
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