China has insisted the test was 'not directed at any country or target' but it has still generated considerable unease in the Pacific.
Fiji ’s President Ratu Wiliame Katonivere referred to the "unilateral" test while speaking at the United Nations General Assembly in New York.On Wednesday, China test-fired an intercontinental ballistic missile with a dummy warhead into the Pacific Ocean as part a "routine" training plan.
"We urge respect for our region, and call for cessation of such action under principle four of the Ocean of Peace, as was endorsed by the Pacific leaders in Tonga last month," he said. Palau's President Surangel Whipps told the ABC that China owed the region an explanation over the test. However, the US response to the missile launch has been measured, with a Pentagon spokeswoman saying that China gave the US "advance notification" of the test, which she called a "good thing".
"Pacific leaders have clearly articulated their expectation that we have a peaceful, stable, prosperous, and secure region. As part of the region, New Zealand strongly supports that expectation."
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