41 Nations Raise Alarm Over China’s Unannounced Pacific Missile Tests

The United States, Japan, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand, and several Pacific island nations were among 41 countries that issued a joint statement on Aug. 11, raising concerns that China’s recent missile tests in the Pacific had not followed the advance-notification and coordination practices commonly observed by other countries.

They called for a transparent and routine notification system to reduce the risk of miscalculation and unintended escalation. Taiwan Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung said on Wednesday that Taiwan welcomed and supported the international community’s joint attention to Indo-Pacific security and again condemned China’s actions that threaten regional stability. 

The co-signatory countries included the United States, Japan, South Korea, the Marshall Islands, Palau, the Philippines, Australia, and New Zealand, among others. The statement said that recent missile-testing activity in the Pacific had not followed the standard notification and deconfliction practices adopted by most states, potentially increasing the risk of miscalculation and unintended escalation. It therefore called on countries to establish a transparent, predictable, and routine system of advance notification. 

U.S. officials raised similar concerns that day at the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva, pointing to China’s July 6 launch of a submarine-launched ballistic missile into the Pacific and saying Beijing had failed to provide sufficient advance notification. Although China notified Japan, Australia, New Zealand, and Papua New Guinea several hours before the launch, the 41-country statement called for at least 24 hours’ notice, along with details on the missile or rocket type, launch area, and intended flight path.

The launch has also caused concern among some Pacific island countries regarding regional security and maritime safety. However, Pacific governments have not reached a unified position on condemning China’s test and the Pacific Islands Forum foreign ministers failed to agree on a collective statement at their Aug. 6 meeting, highlighting divisions among the region’s countries over how to respond to Beijing, reported Reuters. 

Taiwan affirms joint statement

For the best of our weekly content！

You are now signed up for our newsletter

Check your email to complete sign up

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Lin Chia-lung welcomed and affirmed the joint statement, noting that maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and the Indo-Pacific has become an international consensus and is in the common interest of all parties.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs also pointed out that China has continued to substantially expand its military capabilities in recent years. In addition to military intimidation, Beijing has employed various gray-zone tactics—including economic coercion, cognitive warfare, and frequent incursions by military aircraft and warships—in an attempt to unilaterally change the status quo across the Taiwan Strait and in the Indo-Pacific. These actions not only threaten Taiwan but also pose serious challenges to the security and peace of neighboring countries and the wider region.

The Ministry emphasized that, as a responsible member of the international community, Taiwan will continue to work closely with the United States, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, and other like-minded partners to strengthen regional security cooperation and communication, and jointly safeguard peace, stability, and prosperity across the Taiwan Strait and the Indo-Pacific.