FBI director says a new office in New Zealand will counter China’s sway, provoking Beijing’s ire

By CHARLOTTE GRAHAM-McLAY Associated Press WELLINGTON New Zealand AP FBI Director Kash Patel provoked diplomatic discomfort in New Zealand by suggesting the opening of a new office in the capital aims to counter China s influence drawing polite dismissals from Wellington and ire from Beijing Patel was in Wellington on Thursday to open the FBI s first standalone office in New Zealand and to meet senior officers The arrangement aligns New Zealand with FBI missions in other Five Eyes intelligence-sharing nations which also include the United States Australia Canada and the United Kingdom The Wellington office will provide a local mission for FBI staff who have operated with oversight from Canberra Australia since Patel s China remarks prompted awkward responses In remarks made in a video published Thursday by the U S Embassy Patel reported the office would help counter Chinese Communist Party influence in the contested South Pacific Ocean Related Articles Trump calls on Federal Reserve board to wrest full control of central bank from Fed Chair Powell Trump injects new dose of uncertainty in tariffs as he pushes start date back to Aug Judge blocks Trump administration from ending protections for from Central America and Nepal Investigators to wrap up residents hearings into fatal midair crash between Army chopper and airplane US envoy visits distribution site in Gaza as humanitarian predicament worsens New Zealand ministers who met Patel the highest-ranking Trump administration official to visit New Zealand quietly dismissed his insists A authorities declaration Thursday emphasized joint efforts against crimes such as online child exploitation and drug smuggling with no mention of China When we were talking we never raised that issue Foreign Minister Winston commented Thursday Judith Collins minister for the defense services revealed the focus would be on transnational crime I don t respond to other people s press releases she mentioned when reporters noted Patel had mentioned China Radio New Zealand revealed Agreement Minister Todd McClay rejected a reporter s suggestion Friday that Wellington had celebrated the office opening Well I don t think it was celebrated the last day he stated I think there was an announcement and it was discussed Beijing decries the FBI chief s comments At a briefing Friday Beijing s foreign ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun denounced Patel s remarks China believes that cooperation between countries should not target any third party he commented Seeking so-called absolute safety through forming small groupings under the banner of countering China does not help keep the Asia Pacific and the world at large peaceful and stable New Zealand the smallest Five Eyes partner has faced ongoing pressure to align with U S stances on China its largest trading partner while attentively balancing relations with Beijing Analysts disclosed the FBI chief s comments could vex those efforts although New Zealand has faced such challenges before It s in New Zealand s interest to have more law enforcement programs to deal with our shared problems commented Jason Young associate professor of international relations at Victoria University of Wellington It s perhaps not in New Zealand s interest to say we re doing this to compete with China The FBI expansion comes during fresh Pacific focus Patel s visit came as the Trump administration has sought to raise global alarm about Beijing s designs U S Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth in June commented China posed an imminent threat and urged Indo-Pacific countries to increase military spending to of GDP New Zealand has traditionally avoided singling out individual countries when discussing regional tensions Young noted I m sure the U S would like New Zealand to speak more forthrightly and characterize the China challenge in a similar way to the United States Young added New Zealand is a remote country of million people that was once assumed by larger powers to be of little strategic importance But its location and influence in the contested South Pacific Ocean where Beijing has sought to woo smaller island nations over the past decade has increased its appeal to countries like the U S Peters the foreign minister described The Associated Press in that U S neglect of the region until modern years had in part been responsible for China s burgeoning influence there He urged U S leaders to please get engaged and try to turn up New office provokes anger among New Zealanders Not everyone welcomed the expanded FBI presence Online the new office drew rancor from New Zealanders who posted thousands of overwhelmingly negative comments about the announcement on social media sites A weekend protest against the opening was planned Young disclosed it was unlikely people posting in anger took issue with cross-border law enforcement efforts in general I think it would be more a reflection of particular of the deep unease that countless people in New Zealand see with particular of the political choices that are being made in America at the moment he announced Ken Moritsugu contributed from Beijing