Naoero and Kiribati stir frustration over China at Pacific Islands Forum

Naoero and Kiribati have stirred frustration at a sometimes tense meeting of Pacific foreign ministers by blocking a regional statement criticising China's recent ballistic missile test, with New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters suggesting Beijing was seeking to influence the gathering.

Both Australia and New Zealand flagged they would push for Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) foreign ministers to make the region's opposition to the test clear, after Pacific nations failed to reach a consensus in its aftermath last month.

But sources from multiple PIF nations have told the ABC that Kiribati and Naoero (formerly Nauru), which have both developed close ties with Beijing in recent years, continued to block consensus on the statement during today's meeting in Suva, despite broad support for it in the room.

Mr Peters was frustrated after the meeting, saying "two countries" — which he did not name — had effectively blocked the joint statement.

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