Representatives from the NZ Defence Force and NZ Ministry of Defence met with officials from the Chinese Ministry of National Defense on 10 May in Xi’an, a city in China’s northwest.
A press release by the NZDF referred to it as “the New Zealand-China Strategic Defence Dialogue” and that it was the 11th such meeting between the defence forces of the two countries. It is however the first since 2019, after which the regular meetings were interrupted by travel restrictions.
Tan Kefei, a spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of National Defense, stated in an article for Xinhua News that the militaries of China and New Zealand expressed their willingness to further promote relations under new circumstances.
The article further quotes him as saying the two sides held “candid, in-depth and friendly discussions on the regional security situation and issues of common concern.” It also specified they “exchanged views on nuclear submarine cooperation between the United States, Britain and Australia, as well as views on maritime and airspace security.”
The NZDF press release was rather more vague and merely stated that it was “cordial, and offered a useful opportunity for both sides to exchange perspectives on regional security issues. Further dialogue and cooperation at existing multilateral fora was also discussed.”
As with all official news agencies in China, all Xinhua articles must be approved by government officials prior to publication.
NZ Minister of Defence and Minister for GCSB & SIS Andrew Little recently announced a pay rise for defence force staff. $419m over 4 years has been promised, ostensibly to counter recent record staff attrition rates. Soldiers, sailors and aviators will get an annual pay increase of between $4,000 and $15,000 starting from July 1. In total, the 2023 Budget is expected to include a total of over $833m for Defence. Little has cited increasing concerns around regional geopolitics and climate change as a reason for a defence policy review that took place earlier this year.
Little was revealed in 2019 to have used a burner phone in China due to concerns that the Chinese government might be listening to in on all calls. NZ media reported at the time that Opposition MPs also visiting China would not take their work phones nor access parliamentary emails, allegedly also due to security concerns.
In 2021 in his role as Minister of GCSB & SIS, Little revealed the NZ government had uncovered evidence of Chinese state-sponsored cyber attacks in NZ. Fears of an economic backlash from China ensured this did not escalate publicly.
In 2022, Little cautioned about use of Chinese-originating apps such as TikTok, which is alleged to be harvesting sensitive user data.
