Australia's Foreign Minister Penny Wong is scheduled to give a speech on July 22, 2026, at a major international meeting in the Philippines. There, she will warn China that Australia and nearby countries will not be pushed around by what she calls its 'provocative' actions.

The speech comes after a worrying military move. Earlier in July 2026, China fired a missile from a nuclear-powered submarine into the Pacific Ocean. The missile is the type that could carry a nuclear bomb. China's state media reported the test on July 6, 2026 Reuters.

Australia called the test 'provocative and destabilising.' Wong will say it 'came with too little information and notification.' She plans to connect the launch to China's fast military buildup, including its growing collection of nuclear weapons, and say the region expects more openness than China is providing.

The timing made things worse. China's missile test happened just hours after Australia signed a defence agreement with Fiji. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the missile's long range means it could cause 'considerable, considerable damage were it to be weaponised.' He called the launch a 'provocative act' SBS News.

New Zealand, Tuvalu and Fiji have also condemned China's missile test SBS News.

The problems are not only about the missile. On July 20, 2026, the Philippine military said a member of the China Coast Guard hit a Filipino sailor with a baton on a disputed reef in the South China Sea. Wong had already called China's behavior 'destabilising and dangerous' after that accusation.

In her speech, Wong will say Australia will keep speaking up about Chinese ships acting in destabilising and dangerous ways toward vessels from the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, and Indonesia in the South China Sea.

The broader context here is a growing power struggle in the Indo-Pacific region. Countries are sending military signals and clashing at sea more and more, and these two things are getting harder to tell apart. Wong's speech is part of an Australian effort to get nearby countries to agree on basic rules: be open about your military plans, and show some restraint. It is a direct challenge to China's military buildup.

Wong met with China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi on July 21, 2026, on the sidelines of the meeting. It was their 12th meeting The Guardian.

Beyond the region, Wong will also warn that the area will suffer if the Strait of Hormuz is 'weaponised.' The Strait of Hormuz is a narrow strip of water between the Persian Gulf and the open ocean, and a large share of the world's oil travels through it every day.