NZ News
China’s missile test in South Pacific ‘incredibly unwelcome’, PM Luxon says
The Prime Minister says it’s unacceptable China has tested nuclear-capable weapons in the Pacific, and the government’s expressed its concerns directly.
On Monday, China test-launched a long-range ballistic missile with a dummy warhead.
RNZ understands the missile flew over the Exclusive Economic Zones of the Federated States of Micronesia, Nauru, Tuvalu and Kiribati, and landed in waters near Tuvalu and Kiribati.
Luxon said that was unacceptable, unwelcome and concerning.
“This is an intercontinental ballistic missile test, the second that we’ve seen in recent years, having not had one in the region for 40 years, from China,” he said.
“We are living in a region that is proudly nuclear free … we don’t want to see increasing militarisation in our region.”
China’s activity was legal, but inconsistent with Pacific values and the region would strongly push back against it, Luxon said.
“We have expressed our concerns [with China] very directly and very clearly,” he said.
The missile firing came shortly after a new defence treaty was signed between Australia and Fiji.
Luxon said he had spoken with both countries’ Prime Ministers about the agreement and Cabinet was discussing whether New Zealand might join it.
Cabinet was very interested in exploring participation but there was a way to go yet, given it had only just been signed, Luxon said.
Johannes Neudecker / dpa Picture-Alliance via AFP
China says it has acted legally
China insists the test missile test it carried out was a routine arrangement and consistent with international law.
While a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson said, “we hope relevant countries will not read too much into it”, Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters described the launch as being “at odds with the spirit and intent” of the Pacific.
Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning told a press conference in Beijing the test was a “routine arrangement” in China’s annual military training programme.
“It is consistent with international law and customary international practice and is not directed at any specific country or target,” she said.
Asked by AFP whether she had any response to the criticism from countries like New Zealand, Japan, and Australia, Mao repeated her earlier comment, but added the countries concerned were informed prior to the launch.
“The whole process was safe, standard and professional. We hope relevant countries will not read too much into it.”
But on Monday, Peters said while New Zealand had been informed, China carried out the test “within hours”.
Peters said the Pacific was an Ocean of Peace, and the launch was “not consistent” with regional stability and peace in the South Pacific.
RNZ / Samuel Rillstone
“This missile was fired into the South Pacific Nuclear Free Zone established by the Treaty of Rarotonga. China’s action goes against the object and intent of that Treaty.”
RNZ understands the missile test warning from China was delivered to Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade officials by Chinese embassy officials in Wellington and likewise, in Beijing, New Zealand’s defence attaché was notified by Chinese counterparts.
Upon receiving the warning, New Zealand immediately relayed its concerns to both the embassy in Wellington and officials in Beijing.
However, the test went ahead a short time later.
Peters is in Singapore and flies to Japan later on Tuesday.
He will meet with Japan’s Defence Minister Shinjiro Koizumi and Foreign Affairs Minister Toshimitsu Motegi on Friday, where the China missile testing is expected to be front and centre of their talks.
Labour leader Chris Hipkins said the test was unwelcome.
“That’s a very concerning development. We want to see the Pacific stay an ocean of peace, and China’s testing of their ballistic missile capability in the Pacific is very unwelcome.”
Green Party foreign affairs spokesperson Teanau Tuiono said the party did not like any ballistic missiles being launched into New Zealand’s backyard.
“People talk about an Ocean of Peace, and I think that’s a good thing. So we should try to make the Pacific a place of peace, but that would require us to commit to demilitarisation, to actually commit to peace, and making sure that we’re very clear to particularly the big powers, the US, China, and whoever else, that that is what’s important for the Pacific.”
He called for consistency from the government, saying the United States also launched ICMBs into the Pacific.
“I do see this as part of that geo-strategic competition within the Pacific as well, and because of that I think we also need to be consistent,” he said.
“So whether China does it or whether the US does it, we always need to make sure that we draw the attention to our own nuclear-free status as well, the importance of being nuclear-free in the Pacific, important movements like the nuclear-free and independent Pacific, the Treaty of Rarotonga, and how for many Pacific island nations that nuclear testing and nuclear waste dumping is actually still a very real issue.”
US monitored test launch
The United States Department of State issued a statement saying it had kept an eye on the test launch.
It was steadfast in its defence commitments to allies and partners, said spokesperson Thomas Pigott.
“At a time when the United States is working harder than ever to prevent nuclear proliferation, China is doing the opposite,” he said.
“Beijing’s rapid and opaque nuclear weapons buildup is of great concern to the region and the world.
“We continue to urge China to engage in meaningful arms control discussions and commit to a regularized notification arrangement for all intercontinental-range ballistic missile and space launches consistent with commitments made by all other P5 members.”
P5 refers to the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council: China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
Source: RNZ
- A flash flood and landslide hit the Nepal-China border on Wednesday
- Police in Nepal say 362 bodies have been found
- Hundreds of tourists are among more than 1000 people missing
- Five Kiwis are among the missing, MFAT says
- It’s believed a glacier collapse may have caused the disaster
Horrifying pictures of the Nepal flash flood are being described as “like watching a movie” by a New Zealand-based Nepali man.
Five New Zealanders are among more than 1000 people missing following Wednesday’s catastrophic flash flooding on the Nepal-China border which killed at least 362 people.
RNZ understands four of the five New Zealanders missing are Suhasini Reddy, who lives in Australia, Auckland man Dejan Kuzmic, and Hamilton couple Mihir and Kinnari Patel.
The identity of the fifth person has not yet been confirmed.
Based in the Canterbury town of Lincoln, Dr Sulav Paudel said seeing the disaster unfold was unlike anything he had seen.
“It’s horrifying. It’s like things we see in dramatic movies,” he said.
“Most of us haven’t slept well.”
Dr Paudel was the treasurer for the New Zealand chapter of the Non-Resident Nepali Association (NRNA).
The group had issued an urgent plea for donations as it tries to raise emergency relief funding for the Nepal government.
NRNA New Zealand was working with other NRNA groups within its international network, including a team on the ground in Nepal.
Its executive team met on Thursday to discuss how New Zealand-based Nepali could respond to the disaster.
PRAKASH MATHEMA / AFP
Dr Paudel said the group had reached out to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade to advocate for support from the New Zealand government for the disaster recovery.
He hoped the government would soon formally acknowledge the event, including what support it might be able to offer.
“In the meantime we’re also looking after our members to see whether there are any families or people who have loved ones that need support,” he said.
Given the event was still unfolding, Dr Paudel said it was too early to determine to what extent New Zealand-based Nepali may have been personally impacted.
“There are so many people that are out of reach that we don’t know what has happened to them yet,” he said.
“In terms of actual casualties, I don’t think we’ve heard from anyone.
“We expect the number (of casualties) to go up.”
There were about 1350 members of NRNA New Zealand.
A candlelight vigil for the victims of the Nepal disaster was due to be held in Auckland’s Aotea Square on Saturday.
rnz
Police have been hunting through the night for those responsible for a suspected double homicide in Wattle Downs, South Auckland, on Thursday.
Emergency services responded to reports of a woman unresponsive at an address on Gambare Place about 1.45pm.
The woman was pronounced dead at the scene and, during a search of the property, police found a man who was also pronounced dead.
Detective Inspector Tofilau Faamanuia Va’aelua said the offender or offenders fled the scene prior to officers arriving.
On Thursday evening, armed police stood guard in front of the house, as neighbours looked on.
Dianna Kereopa-Turner had lived in the street her whole life. She told RNZ she had just returned home when “havoc started going on” outside.
“We thought it was our nail gun for our sleepout that we’re building going off … and then it was quite loud,” Kereopa-Turner said.
“But no, it was shooting. All we heard was gun. Then my sister came out of her room and said ‘somebody out there’s shooting’, so we gathered in whoever was loose around the house and stayed inside.”
She said the victims had only just moved in to the street: “It’s sad to know that whatever trouble was following them, obviously followed them right to the doorstep, and unfortunately it happened on this street where there’s a lot of kids and a lot of elderly people.”
RNZ / Erin Johnson
Many residents had been unable to return to their homes on Gambare Place and adjoining Volante Avenue while police cordons closed the roads on Thursday afternoon, with armed police stationed at the cordons.
Another Gambare Place resident, Bobbie, said she had been at the doctors and tried to return home around 2.45pm.
“The street was already closed off, so I thought, ‘oh better shoot over to the school and pick up my niece’, got over there and it was locked down as well.”
Bobbie said they were allowed to go home just after 5pm.
She said, once home, she talked with neighbours and some were quite shocked.
While the cordon was in place, police were seen working behind a white tarpaulin on Volante Avenue. Police later confirmed staff had moved the victims to a safe location, away from the scene, to render first aid, while other staff continued working to clear the scene and make it safe.
Va’aelua said the incident appeared to be isolated, but police were not able to “rule anything out”, and were now determining the exact cricumstances of the incident.
“This is an awful set of events and no doubt unsettling for everyone involved and the wider community.”
Anyone with information on the incident that could help police with enquiries could contact 105.
rnz
Rescue teams are searching for a New Zealand teenager missing after a boat carrying him and three other people capsized in Bangladesh, officials say.
Albert, 16, whose surname was withheld by police, went missing after the boat overturned in rough waters on Tuesday morning (all times local) near an estuary off Cox’s Bazar on the country’s southeastern coast.
Do you know more? Email iwitness@rnz.co.nz
The other three New Zealanders on the boat were rescued by fishermen nearby.
“The Coast Guard is searching for the boy while a helicopter is conducting an aerial search. Fishermen have also been alerted about the missing teenager,” an official told AFP on condition of anonymity as he was not authorised to speak to the media.
Rescue efforts have been hampered by rough conditions in the Bay of Bengal, he added.
999 NATIONAL EMERGENCY SERVICE BANGLADESH / SUPPLIED
Mohammad Ali, the officer-in-charge of Cox’s Bazar police station, said the four had been on a trip when the boat met with an accident.
Local media reports said the four were from the same family but officials were unable to confirm that information immediately.
– AFP
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