FBI opens first office in New Zealand, sparking backlash in China
FBI Director Kash Patel sparked diplomatic discomfort in New Zealand by suggesting the opening of a new office in the Oceanian nation aims to counter China's influence, drawing polite dismissals from Wellington and anger from Beijing.
Patel was in Wellington on Thursday to open the FBI's first standalone office in New Zealand and to meet senior officials.
The arrangement aligns New Zealand with FBI missions in other Five Eyes intelligence-sharing nations, which also include the UK, the US, Canada and Australia.
The Wellington office will provide a local mission for FBI staff who have operated with oversight from Australia since 2017.
In remarks made in a video published on Thursday by the US embassy, Patel said the office would help counter Chinese Communist Party influence in the contested South Pacific Ocean.
New Zealand ministers who met Patel, the highest-ranking Trump administration official to visit New Zealand, quietly dismissed his claims.
A government statement on Thursday emphasised 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 said Thursday.
Minister for the Security Services Judith Collins said the focus would be on transnational crime.
"I don't respond to other people's press releases," she said when reporters noted Patel had mentioned China, Radio New Zealand reported.
Trade Minister Todd McClay rejected a reporter’s suggestion Friday that Wellington had "celebrated" the office opening.
"Well, I don't think it was celebrated yesterday," he said. "I think there was an announcement and it was discussed."
Beijing slams Patel's comments
At a briefing on 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 said.
"Seeking so-called absolute security 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 partner in the Five Eyes alliance, has faced pressure to align with the US position on China, its largest trading partner, while carefully balancing relations with Beijing.
Analysts said the FBI chief's comments could upset those efforts, although New Zealand has faced such challenges before.
"It's in New Zealand's interest to have more law enforcement activities to deal with our shared problems," said 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."
Anger among New Zealanders
Not everyone in New Zealand welcomed the expanded FBI presence.
Online, the new office drew rancour 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 said 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 some of the deep unease that many people in New Zealand see with some of the political choices that are being made in America at the moment," he said.
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.
US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said in June that China posed an imminent threat and urged Indo-Pacific countries to increase military spending to 5% of GDP.
New Zealand has traditionally avoided singling out individual countries when discussing regional tensions, Young said.
"I'm sure the US would like New Zealand to speak more forthrightly and characterise the China challenge in a similar way to the United States," Young added.
New Zealand is a remote country of 5 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 US.