{"id":513703,"date":"2026-07-07T07:15:19","date_gmt":"2026-07-07T07:15:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/513703\/"},"modified":"2026-07-07T07:15:19","modified_gmt":"2026-07-07T07:15:19","slug":"china-ballistic-missile-test-an-incursion-on-mana","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/513703\/","title":{"rendered":"China ballistic missile test \u2018an incursion on mana\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

China\u2019s launch of a long-range ballistic missile into the South Pacific has prompted concern from New Zealand politicians and foreign policy experts, who warn the test risks increasing tensions and contributing to the further militarisation of the region.<\/p>\n

Speaking to the media on Tuesday, the Prime Minister said it was unacceptable that China had tested nuclear-capable weapons in the Pacific, adding the government had expressed its concerns directly to Beijing.<\/p>\n

Those concerns were echoed by Green Party foreign affairs spokesperson Teanau Tuiono, who said the Government\u2019s response needed to be applied consistently to all countries conducting military activity in the Pacific.<\/p>\n

The concerns come as Pacific leaders have committed to the vision of a \u201cBlue Pacific Ocean of Peace\u201d<\/a>, a declaration intended to keep the region from becoming a theatre for geopolitical competition. However, critics have warned that growing military activity and strategic rivalry risk undermining that ambition.<\/p>\n

The discussion comes as major military exercises continue in the wider Pacific region, including the Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) exercise currently underway around the Hawaiian Islands, involving more than 30 nations, including Aotearoa.<\/p>\n

\"\"Royal New Zealand Navy warship, HMNZS Te Mana . Photo: Getty Images Political and environmental impact<\/p>\n

Former New Zealand Trade Commissioner and Director of Trade in Taiwan Tina Wilson Wehipeihana, who worked extensively across Asia, including China, says Beijing\u2019s actions are disastrous.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur Pacific islander cousins have so much challenges already to start with, from a climate perspective, from resourcing, from all those types of things. So when you have that type of activity happening in your backyard\u2026 where our wildlife are different types of currencies for our Pacific nations taking place, it\u2019s disastrous.”<\/p>\n

She commended the government\u2019s decision to publicly express concern about the launch, but said more needed to be done.<\/p>\n

\"\"Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands, where low-lying Pacific communities face the impacts of climate change and rising sea levels. Photo: Brandi Mueller \/ Getty Images <\/p>\n

She added that for Indigenous peoples across the South Pacific, the ocean holds deep spiritual significance, and Beijing\u2019s activities could be seen as undermining that sacredness.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur marine life and the quality of what happens underneath the water is extremely important for our Pacific nations, and it\u2019s extremely important for us as M\u0101ori. When people disrespect that, there is really an incursion on mana, and what are we doing to stand up for the mana of our people and the mana of our taiao?\u201d<\/p>\n

Consistency in approach <\/p>\n

Tuiono, who also has whakapapa to the Cook Islands, said the New Zealand Government needed to be consistent in its messaging.<\/p>\n

\u201cAmerica often tests intercontinental ballistic missiles, firing into the Marshall Islands. If they\u2019re going to take this stance with China, then the expectation is they should also take it with the Americans.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Green Party MP and the party’s spokesman for Pacific People’s Teanau Tuiono. Photo: Supplied <\/p>\n

Foreign Minister Winton Peters, who is travelling in Japan, confirmed on Monday that China had informed the New Zealand Government in advance of its plans to launch a long-range ballistic missile into the South Pacific.<\/p>\n

He described the launch as \u201cdeeply concerning\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cNew Zealand considers this an unwelcome and concerning development. We, like our neighbours in other Pacific countries, have no interest in China using the South Pacific as a testing site for missile capability.\u201d<\/p>\n

Peters said he would discuss the incident with Pacific partners and reiterated that Pacific leaders had consistently said they did not want the region to become a theatre for outside military competition.<\/p>\n

\"\"Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters. Photo: Te Ao M\u0101ori News. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe are also concerned that this now seems to be a recurring pattern by China, following its test firing of an intercontinental ballistic missile into the South Pacific in 2024. We as a region should not sit by and allow such tests to become normalised or routine.\u201d<\/p>\n

The minister said New Zealand would continue to monitor the situation in close coordination with regional partners.<\/p>\n

Te Ao M\u0101ori News has reached out to the Chinese Embassy for comment on the missile test and the concerns raised about increased militarisation in the Pacific.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"China\u2019s launch of a long-range ballistic missile into the South Pacific has prompted concern from New Zealand politicians…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":513704,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[65003,255363,111,43,139,69,2892,255362],"class_list":["post-513703","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-zealand","tag-geopolitics","tag-militarisation","tag-new-zealand","tag-news","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-peace","tag-te-moana-nui-a-kiwa"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/513703","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=513703"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/513703\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/513704"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=513703"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=513703"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=513703"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}