The Chinese government test launched an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) from a submarine that landed in the South Pacific Ocean Nuclear-Free Zone.
“Peace Action Wellington universally condemns all nations using the Pacific for weapons testing and deployments. This includes the United States, Australia and New Zealand along with China and all others that are militarising the region,” said Valerie Morse, member of Peace Action Wellington.
“Pacific peoples have been very clear that they do not want a war in the region, and they do not want weapons testing in the Pacific. The US has tested at least 10 ICBMs in the Pacific since 2022, most of them landing in Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands. The government of Kiribati has been vocally opposed to these US missile launches into the Pacific.
“Just last week, the NZDF tested its own guided missile capability from the P8 Poseidon as part of US military training around Guam. The people of Guam have been very clear that they don’t want their homelands turned into a giant US military base and weapons testing zone.”
“This ratcheting up of military training and weapons testing and training in the Pacific must stop. It is imperative that the great Pacific ocean, Te Moana-Nui-a-Kiwa, become totally weapons-free, not just nuclear weapons-free zone. Instead of training and preparing for war, we need all hands on deck to de-escalate this dangerous military contest.”
“A war with China in the Pacific would be a disaster not just for everyone in Aotearoa NZ, but for the entire globe. The New Zealand government’s decisions to pull closer to the US, including weapons testing and training in the Pacific, seriously threatens a principled, independent and nuclear-free foreign policy.”