Foreign Minister Winston Peters is in Suva, Fiji, on 7 August 2026, meeting with counterparts from 17 other Pacific Island nations. The group is called the Pacific Islands Forum. Two big issues are on the table: growing tension with China, and a possible new defence agreement that New Zealand might join. (RNZ)

The meeting comes just weeks after China fired a ballistic missile — a long-range weapon that can carry a nuclear warhead — into the Pacific Ocean. This one carried a dummy warhead, not a real one. China gave only a few hours' warning before the launch. The missile landed in an area that is supposed to be free of nuclear weapons under a regional agreement called the Treaty of Rarotonga. (RNZ)

China is not a full member of the Pacific Islands Forum, but it takes part in Forum discussions as a "partner country." In June, China gave the Forum's administrative office more than USD $1 million. (RNZ)

Otago University professor Robert Patman, who studies international relations, said the missile test may make it hard for the Forum nations to agree on a shared response. That is because different Pacific countries have very different relationships with Beijing. (RNZ)

New Zealand is also thinking about joining a proposed defence arrangement called the Ocean of Peace Alliance, alongside Fiji and Australia. Under the alliance, countries would agree to help defend each other if one is attacked. The idea builds on a treaty Australia and Fiji signed on 6 July 2026, where each side promised to "act to meet common danger" if either is attacked. (RNZ)

The Australia-Fiji treaty is Fiji's first-ever mutual defence pact. It is Australia's fourth. Both Reuters and AP reported that Australia signed the deal to push back against China's growing influence in the Pacific. (Reuters; AP)

There is also leftover tension from last year's Forum leaders' meeting in the Solomon Islands. At that meeting, member countries decided to ban partner countries — including China and the United States — from sitting in on discussion sessions. That decision caused friction among Forum members. Peters has said repeatedly that "outsiders" pushed Solomon Islands Prime Minister Jeremiah Manele to impose the ban. Manele has denied that. (RNZ)

A smaller, virtual meeting of Forum foreign ministers was held on 22 May 2026, chaired by the Solomon Islands, to prepare for this one. The Forum's office is on Sukuna Road in Suva.

This foreign ministers' meeting happens every year and sets up the agenda for the Forum leaders' summit. That summit is on 30 August 2026 in Palau. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon will attend. (RNZ)

The broader context here is a Pacific region caught between two sides. On one side is China, which is giving money to the Forum at the same time as testing missiles in the region's nuclear-free waters. On the other side are traditional security partners like Australia and New Zealand, who are pushing new defence treaties. The question is whether the Forum's member countries can stay united when outside powers are pulling in different directions. The dispute over who was behind last year's ban on partner countries showed cracks that have not healed. What the foreign ministers say about China's missile test in their final statement will be a signal of whether those cracks are getting wider or starting to close.

For New Zealand, the Ocean of Peace Alliance could be a meaningful change. Right now, New Zealand's main defence and intelligence partnerships are with English-speaking allies through agreements like ANZUS and the Five Eyes. Joining a Pacific-specific defence arrangement with Fiji and Australia would be something new. Peters has made the Pacific a priority each time he has been foreign minister, and his talk of "outsiders" influencing Forum processes suggests he wants tighter rules on how non-members can get involved. Whether other Forum members feel the same way — especially countries that have taken significant Chinese funding and security help — will determine what happens in Suva and what gets passed on to the leaders meeting in Palau later this month.