SYDNEY, Sept 3 (Reuters) - The chair of the regional Pacific Islands Forum said on Thursday he was hoping to gain consensus from member nations to condemn a Chinese missile test in the region, on the final day of a summit dominated by a dispute between Beijing and Taiwan.
Surangel Whipps Jr., who is also the president of Palau, said he was hopeful the issue would be mentioned in a joint statement by the 18-nation bloc when the summit ends later on Thursday.
"That's definitely something that we'll be discussing today, and a unified Pacific voice is critical in getting Beijing to respect sovereignty, to respect transparency, and to be a responsible partner," he told a news conference.
"We don't want our backyard, our homes, to be threatened and really disrespected."
The July ballistic missile test by Beijing — its first known launch in the Pacific since September 2024 — came hours after Fiji and Australia signed a major defence treaty, marking Fiji's first ever alliance.
A meeting of Pacific Islands foreign ministers last month failed to agree to a statement condemning the test, despite individual leaders expressing alarm, publicly and privately, about militarisation of the region.
China says the test was conducted safely.
This year's meeting of the Pacific Islands Forum has been overshadowed by China's objections to the presence of Taiwan at the summit, saying the island was not qualified to attend.
Summit host Palau is one of three Pacific Island countries with official diplomatic ties to Taiwan.
China claims democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory and has never renounced the use of force to bring the island under its control. Taiwan strongly objects to China's sovereignty claims and says only the island's people can decide their future.
Tensions between Beijing and Taipei have featured prominently at the annual meeting of the forum, which counts Australia, New Zealand and Pacific island nations as members.
Some Pacific leaders have stayed away from the summit, with the prime ministers of Fiji, Vanuatu, Samoa and the Solomon Islands and the president of Kiribati sending low-ranking ministers instead, raising concerns the absences could undermine the outcome of the meeting.
New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters said on Tuesday he was "highly suspicious" about whether foreign interference might be behind some of the leaders' absences, without directly accusing Beijing.
China's foreign ministry spokesperson said Peters' comments were unfounded.
(Reporting by Alasdair Pal in Sydney; Editing by Kate Mayberry)