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New Zealand’s defence chief says China’s growing presence ‘worries me and it should’
New Zealand’s concerns come as the government plans to increase defence spending, eyeing Nato’s guidance
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New Zealand’s top soldier said he is concerned about China’s increasing presence in the South Pacific and warned that the nation’s armed forces need to be ready for any eventuality.
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“I haven’t seen the world or the region in this kind of state, and that concerns me,” Chief of Defence Force Air Marshal Tony Davies told a parliamentary committee on Tuesday in Wellington.
“At some point we need to be prepared to make decisions which could see our sailors, soldiers and aviators going into harm’s way to protect our interests.”
New Zealand, along with Australia and the United States, were shocked when the Solomon Islands announced in early 2022 that it had signed a security agreement with Beijing. Wellington is seeking to deepen its ties with like-minded Western nations but in doing so runs the risk of antagonising China, its biggest trading partner.
“We’ve seen a far greater presence by China in the Pacific, in the southwest Pacific,” Davies said.
The temperature is going up … That worries me and it should
China recently sent what Davies described as its most capable warship – a Renhai-class guided-missile cruiser – on a visit to Vanuatu, and in July sent a destroyer to attend a navy anniversary in Tonga. In October it conducted an intercontinental ballistic missile test that splashed down near French Polynesia.
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