Jeremy Rose: The nuclear-free Pacific and hypersonic hypocrisy

The hypersonic hypocrisy of Pacific nuclear politics

Australia and New Zealand rightly criticise China’s nuclear-capable missile tests in the Pacific. Their silence on repeated US tests exposes a glaring double standard.

Jeremy Rose: The nuclear-free Pacific and hypersonic hypocrisy

COMMENTARY: By Jeremy Rose On February 18 of this year, the United States launched a Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile from the Vandenberg Space Force Base, California. Travelling at speeds of more than 24,000 km/h, it landed near the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands, 6700 kilometres away, 24 minutes later. Minuteman III missiles can deliver up to three separate nuclear warheads, each more than 20 times as powerful as the b…