Acting Prime Minister Richard Marles has refused to reveal where a long-range missile armed with a dummy warhead landed in the Pacific after it was test-launched by China.
Marles was pressed on the matter on Tuesday, saying it was ‘not something that I can talk about publicly’.
‘I mean it’s not particularly close, but we’re talking about the Pacific,’ he told the ABC.
‘In that sense what’s relevant here is the capability that was being tested, the range that was being demonstrated, and the fact that China itself has said that this would be a nuclear capable missile and that fundamentally is deeply destabilising.’
Chinese state-owned media outlet Xinhua stated a ‘strategic nuclear submarine of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy successfully launched a submarine-launched ballistic missile carrying a simulated training warhead into the high seas of the Pacific Ocean’ at 12.01pm on Monday.
Head of Taiwan’s national security council, Joseph Wu, had shared an image showing the missile travelling across Micronesia and Melanesia and disappearing into the ocean 1,000km north-east of Solomon Islands.
The ABC reported the missile flew over the Exclusive Economic Zones, passing over at least three Pacific island states, and landing closest to Tuvalu and Kiribati.
Sources earlier claimed the launch was in retaliation to Fiji’s new defence deal with Australia as Beijing seeks greater influence in the region.
Richard Marles (pictured) said that the Albanese government had expressed concern to China
Marles insisted the test was not linked to the timing of Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s visit to the Pacific.
‘I doubt that it’s about the prime minister being in the Pacific,’ he said.
Speaking with Sky News, Marles said the missile test highlighted China’s growing military reach and reinforced the importance of Australia strengthening defence partnerships across the Pacific.
Marles called the test a destabilising development for the region just hours after Australia signed a new security agreement with Fiji.
‘We are concerned about what China has done and we’ve expressed that concern to China,’ Marles said.
‘This is a long-range missile test which China itself has said would be nuclear capable.
‘It’s been launched from a submarine, which also implies something about the range that China is building in terms of deploying nuclear capabilities, and all of that is obviously destabilising to the region.’
Marles said Australia had formally raised its concerns with Beijing through diplomatic channels.
China launched a submarine-launched ballistic missile carrying a simulated training warhead
‘We have expressed our concern at a direct government-to-government level, both in Canberra and Beijing,’ he said.
The Defence Minister declined to reveal details about the missile’s trajectory or destination but said Australian authorities were closely monitoring developments.
More to come
