{"id":1254,"date":"2026-07-08T13:09:59","date_gmt":"2026-07-08T13:09:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/micronesiasun.com\/?p=1254"},"modified":"2026-07-08T19:38:35","modified_gmt":"2026-07-08T19:38:35","slug":"marshall-islands-calls-on-china-to-adhere-to-treaty-of-rarotonga","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/micronesiasun.com\/?p=1254","title":{"rendered":"Marshall Islands Calls on China to Adhere to Treaty of Rarotonga"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Photo Sources: Office of the President, Republic of Marshall Islands<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Christopher Cottrell<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

July 8, 2026, Marshall Islands__<\/strong>Joining a chorus of Pacific nation<\/a>s against China\u2019s ballistic missile launch Monday<\/a>, the Marshall Islands released an official statement today<\/a> decrying the test.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The  Office of the President of the Republic of Marshall Islands reads below in full:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe Republic of the Marshall Islands wishes to register our concern over the submarine-launched ballistic missile test conducted by the People’s Republic of China on 6 July targeting the South Pacific.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAlthough reportedly carrying a dummy warhead, no nation understands the weight of nuclear testing in Pacific waters better than ours. For twelve years, our atolls bore the cost of 67 nuclear detonations whose consequences our people live with still. We do not raise this history lightly, nor do we invoke it for rhetorical effect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe note the People\u2019s Republic of China\u2019s characterization of the test as \u2018routine\u2019, and its \u2018request\u2019 not to \u2018over interpret\u2019. We respectfully ask that China give due significant consideration that members of the Pacific Islands Forum placed on regional stability reflected in the Pacific Islands Forum\u2019s Blue Pacific Ocean of Peace Declaration, endorsed in September 2025, affirming the Blue Pacific Continent\u2019s commitment to remain a zone of peace, free from conflict and rivalry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cChina is a State Party to the Protocols II and III of the Treaty of Rarotonga, which established the South Pacific as a Nuclear-Free Zone. By ratifying these protocols in 1988, China committed not to test or threaten the use of nuclear weapons within this region. This was a clear deliberate pledge; one that carries enduring significance for Pacific nations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Upholding the Treaty\u2019s intent requires not only adherence to its letter, but also, good faith in preserving the Pacific as an Ocean of Peace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe are a small nation. In compliance with the Treaty of Rarotonga, we call on China \u2014 as we have called on every nuclear power before it \u2014 to explain its intentions in language as clear as the harm such tests can cause, and to recognize that a region asking for peace is not a region inviting a demonstration of force.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Photo Sources: Office of the President, Republic of Marshall Islands By Christopher Cottrell July 8, 2026, Marshall Islands__Joining a chorus of Pacific nations against China\u2019s ballistic missile launch Monday, the Marshall Islands released an official statement today decrying the test. 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