What does China’s long-range missile test in the South Pacific mean for Australia?

The timing – on the day the Ocean of Peace Alliance treaty was signed with Fiji – reads as provocation at best, coercion at worst Chinese government tells critics not to ‘overinterpret’ missile test in Pacific as criticism grows At 12.01pm on Monday , a People’s Liberation Army Navy submarine test fired a ballistic missile into the South Pacific nuclear-free zone. This is the second time China has conducted a ballistic missile test in the Pacific in two years. Coming on the day Fiji became Australia’s fourth formal treaty ally , after the US, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea, this test’s timing is interesting. It reads as a provocation at best, outright coercion at worst. Continue reading...