Leaders of Pacific nations agreed to register collective “concern” about China’s launch of a ballistic missile into their waters, but failed to reach unanimous agreement on a statement and stopped short of a sterner rebuke of Beijing's actions. The annual Pacific Island Forum summit, held this year in Palau, saw the island nation of Nauru — which has recently strengthened ties with China — dissent from the joint statement.
Another member, Kiribati, had no representative at the private retreat where the statement was decided, according to New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon. Luxon downplayed the significance of Nauru's dissent and Kiribati's absence, emphasizing that a consensus position was still largely achieved. The document is typically decided by unanimous consensus among leaders during a private retreat.
"I think we've got to a very good place," Luxon told reporters. "Yes, Nauru has dissociated itself from that statement, but that shouldn't be a reason for why we shouldn't be able to express a PIF position or a consensus position."
This year's summit underscored the increasing geopolitical importance of the vast Pacific region. Major powers have been vying for influence, leading to complex and sometimes conflicting alliances among the small island states. In 2024, Nauru severed diplomatic ties with Taiwan to align with Beijing. Palau, the host of this year's summit, is one of the few remaining countries to recognize Taiwan.
While leaders attributed absences and non-participation to factors such as ill health or domestic politics, the forum's struggle to form a united position on the missile incident highlighted growing divisions. The missile launch itself had been a point of criticism for many countries in the region, and the inability of the forum to reach consensus on a joint statement drew attention, especially after a previous meeting of foreign ministers also failed to produce such a statement due to disagreements from Nauru and Kiribati.