NZ 'should not be fazed' by any objection from China to Pacific defence alliance
New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters stated that the country should not be deterred by potential Chinese objections to a new Pacific defence alliance. This follows recent Chinese missile tests in the region and ongoing exploratory talks between New Zealand, Australia, and Fiji.
Why it matters
Geopolitical tensions in the Pacific are rising as nations navigate military alliances and regional security concerns involving China.
The Foreign Minister says China might call it an act of provocation to join the Ocean of Peace Alliance , but New Zealand should not be fazed.
Winston Peters has just returned from Singapore and Japan, where he discussed China's ballistic missile test, and says normalising such a test as regular activity is not acceptable.
"It's important that Pacific countries and those that are seriously concerned about the long-term implications of such potential behaviour are resistant right here and right now, and that's what we're doing," Peters told RNZ.
He said "China does what China does if it gets away with it", but if there was resistance, the direction could be different in the future. If there was no resistance, "it's likely to carry on."
Last week, China test-launched a long-range ballistic missile with a dummy warhead, which the Prime Minister said was unacceptable .
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