New Zealand is “deeply concerned” about China’s increased interest in the Pacific, Foreign Minister Winston Peters said.
“China has a longstanding presence in the Pacific, but we have serious concerns about its increased involvement in the security sectors in the Pacific,” Peters said in a speech to the New Zealand China Council in Wellington on Friday. “We do not want to see developments that destabilize the institutions and arrangements that have long supported the security of our region.”
New Zealand’s new centre-right government, which took office late last year, is seeking to deepen ties with like-minded Western countries such as Australia, the US and Britain, amid concerns about Beijing’s growing ambitions in the Pacific.
