Pacific Islands Forum fails to agree on joint statement on China missile test, New Zealand foreign minister's push rebuffed

A meeting of Pacific Islands Forum foreign ministers in Suva, Fiji, failed to reach consensus on a joint statement regarding China's July submarine-launched ballistic missile test. New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters had pushed for a strongly worded declaration but acknowledged some member states refused to support it. Chinese experts framed the outcome as evidence that Pacific Island nations are increasingly asserting their own agency and rejecting externally defined security narratives.