Pacific nation eyes new security pact amid concerns over China’s missile test
Tonga’s Prime Minister has joined the chorus of regional leaders condemning China’s test of a nuclear-capable long-range missile in the Pacific this week; as his country is weighing whether to join Fiji and Australia in a new military alliance.
Lord Fatafehi Fakafānua, who attended the Status of Origin decision with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in Brisbane this week, said he was hopeful Australia and Tonga could reach an ambitious agreement quickly, possibly by the end of the year.
As China notified Tonga of missile launches, Fakafānua said that “any escalation to militarize the ocean is something that we, along with the rest of the Pacific family, do not support.”
“I think it’s creating tension in the Pacific, and some of my colleagues in the Pacific have been quite vocal about it,” he told this imprint in an interview in Sydney.
“So we’d say it’s creating some excitement.”
Albanese said earlier this week the Pacific Islands Forum had drafted a “very strong” condemnation of the test firings, calling it a “provocative act”.
Solomon Islands Prime Minister Matthew Wale said China’s test was “not something a friend would do” and Tuvalu Prime Minister Feleti Teo expressed “grave and serious concern and disappointment” over the missile launch.
Palau President Surangel Whipps Jr., who will host the Pacific Island Forum leaders’ meeting next month, said he was “shocked and deeply concerned by such behavior.”
Australia and Tonga are trying to finalize a comprehensive agreement known as: Ofi to Kaume The agreement (close friends) that the countries said last year would be “transformative” and would “write the next chapter of regional integration.”
This will follow Australia’s recent agreements with Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, Tuvalu and Nauru.
Fakafānua said he expected the agreement to focus on education, health and defense, including maritime awareness, disaster preparedness and climate change adaptation.
“We’re pretty ambitious… It could be by the end of the year,” he said when asked about the timing, adding that officials from both countries would hold talks on the details of the deal next month.
Australia and Fiji have signaled they would welcome more Pacific countries joining their defense forces in the Peace Ocean military alliance they signed this week. Tonga would be a logical addition as one of the few Pacific nations with a defense force, alongside New Zealand and Papua New Guinea.
While New Zealand expressed excitement about joining the alliance, Fakafānua said he could see the “pros and cons” of signing up. The official said the Australian Defense Force could come to Tonga’s aid in a crisis without the need for a formal alliance.
Asked whether he supported the Australian government’s position that policing and security issues should be handled by Pacific countries rather than outside countries such as China, Fakafānua said: “I think when the international order breaks down… we go back to our neighborhood for stability and now regionalism is very important and it’s good to see the Pacific family coming together.”
He continued: “Australia is kind of like the big brother in our neighborhood and we may have our differences on some points, but we tend to stick together more like family.”
He said the Pacific as a regional bloc was “a force to be reckoned with internationally.”
Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Mao Ning told a news conference in Beijing that the test was a “routine adjustment” in China’s annual military training programme.
“It is consistent with international law and customary international practice and is not directed against any particular country or target,” he said.
Lachlan Strahan, Australia’s former high commissioner to the Solomon Islands, said Beijing had damaged its reputation in the Pacific with a “tone-deaf” missile test that it fired with only a few hours’ warning.
“Beijing can be very skilled at friendly diplomacy. They can flatter people and make them feel special, they use a lot of hyperbolic language that appeals to the Pacific about peace, equality of states and sovereignty,” he said. “This all seems pretty empty now.”
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