National Security Adviser Eduardo Oban on Wednesday expressed “serious concern” over China’s test-firing of a long-range ballistic missile from a submarine into the South Pacific, warning that the launch could heighten tensions and undermine regional stability.
“China may call the launch ‘routine,’ but there is nothing routine about its consequences for regional security,” Oban said in a statement.
China test-launched the ballistic missile on Monday from one of its nuclear-powered submarines, with a dummy warhead reportedly landing within designated waters.
“A missile test of such range and capability, against the backdrop of continuing concerns over the pace and transparency of China’s military buildup, inevitably raises questions about strategic intent and regional stability,” Oban said.
The Department of National Defense and the Armed Forces of the Philippines had earlier denounced the missile launch.
Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. called the test an act of provocation, saying there was no reason for China to conduct such an exercise as it is not a Pacific country.
DND spokesman Arsenio Andolong also described the launch as a “reckless display of military power that shows little regard for smaller countries and the fragile ecological systems that sustain their people.”
Andolong said the missile test “serves no peaceful purpose” and was a “calculated act of taunting and provocation against those who reject China’s illegal expansionism and coercive conduct.”
Oban said the Pacific is home to sovereign nations and peoples whose security and peace must not be treated as secondary to unnecessary displays of military power.
He also said that peace and stability can endure only when states act with due regard for the rights of other states, a principle the Philippines continues to uphold amid regional security concerns.
“The Philippines stands with its Pacific partners in calling for greater transparency and meaningful measures to reduce the risk of miscalculation and regional instability,” Oban said.
“A secure region cannot be built on the ability to project power, but on the responsibility to exercise it with due regard to others,” he added.