China to test nuclear-capable weapon in South Pacific, diplomats told By Matthew Knott and Lisa Visentin
China is preparing to test-fire a nuclear-capable long-range missile with a dummy warhead in the South Pacific in the next 24 hours, diplomats in the region have been told.
The news, delivered to regional governments on Monday afternoon, came just hours after Australia and Fiji struck a new defence alliance.
Chinese military vehicles carried weapons including a nuclear-capable missile designed to evade US defences as the Communist Party celebrated its 70th anniversary in power with a parade in Beijing in 2019. AP Diplomatic sources confirmed to this masthead that Chinese officials had briefed various regional governments, including Australia, about an upcoming intercontinental ballistic missile test in the Pacific.
China previously test-fired an intercontinental ballistic missile into the Pacific Ocean in September 2024, the first such test since 1980.
Chinese military vehicles carried weapons including a nuclear-capable missile designed to evade US defences as the Communist Party celebrated its 70th anniversary in power with a parade in Beijing in 2019.
Earlier today, Fijian Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka said he did not expect any resistance from China following the island nation’s new bilateral defence treaty with Australia.
“I do not expect China to have any severe pushback on either government, and I believe that they will welcome the understanding that it is between Australia and Fiji,” he said, speaking alongside Prime Minister Anthony Albanese at a press conference in Suva.
“It does not threaten Fiji’s relationship with China, nor Australia’s relationship with China, and as we have made it very clear in the past … your enemies are not necessarily my enemies.”
We will be following this story closely and bring you more updates as it unfolds.
Read the full story here.
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