Labor foreign minister Penny Wong glibly told the ABC’s 7.30 on July 6 that China’s test of an intercontinental ballistic missile, launched by a strategic nuclear submarine, was “destabilising” for the region.

Wong was not asked about the scores of nuclear-capable missiles the United States has fired into the Pacific just over the last decade, or the 318 nuclear tests carried out by the US, Britain and France in the Pacific region between 1946 and 1962 — all of which were carried out with bipartisan support.

According to journalist Peter Cronau, the US test fired nuclear-capable ICBM missile 7000 kilometres into the mid-Pacific. possibly as recently as this March.

Wong wasn’t asked about, nor did she mention, Australia’s current participation in the biannual Pacific Rim 2026 (RIMPAC26) war exercises, along with the US, and dozens of other countries, including Israel.

Wong complained that China’s test was “inconsistent” with Pacific leaders’ requests for the ocean to be one “of peace”. Yet, RIMPAC26, which purports to promote a “free and open” Pacific is, in fact, a rehearsal for a potential US-Australia conflict with China.

RIMPAC26, according to the Department of Defence, creates opportunities “to test Australian and US personnel interoperability”. It includes live-fire exercises, anti-submarine warfare, air defence, mine clearance and explosive ordnance disposal, as well as diving and salvage operations.

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