No missile launches wanted in the Pacific – Peace Action Wellington

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.
The New Zealand government did not condemn any of the US launches.”

“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 ratching 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 deescalate 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.”