China has urged New Zealand not to “harm its own security interests” after Wellington said it had engaged the Aukus security partnership about cooperation on cyberwar, AI and hypersonic weapons.
Chinese defence ministry spokesman Zhang Xiaogang said on Thursday that Aukus was established for “selfish geopolitical interests” that “undermined the international nuclear non-proliferation regime and triggered arms races” in the region. “We urge the parties … to refrain from going further and further down the wrong and dangerous path, and refrain from sabotaging international and regional peace and stability to the detriment of their own security interests,” Zhang said.
A day earlier Australian officials gave their New Zealand counterparts a “background briefing” on “Pillar II” of the trilateral security pact with the United States and the United Kingdom, according to the New Zealand Ministry of Defence.
Pillar I is the transfer of nuclear-powered submarines and technology to Australia while Pillar II is collaboration on emerging technology. The meeting was “not intended to address the issue of New Zealand joining Pillar II”, and there was “not yet a time frame on when Pillar II might be opened to others”, the New Zealand ministry said.
Pillar I is the transfer of nuclear-powered submarines and technology to Australia while Pillar II is collaboration on emerging technology. The meeting was “not intended to address the issue of New Zealand joining Pillar II”, and there was “not yet a time frame on when Pillar II might be opened to others”, the New Zealand ministry said.
Nevertheless, China expressed its “strong concerns” and objections against the Aukus partnership and its potential expansion in the Indo-Pacific.
Aukus was formed in September 2021, with the US, Britain and Australia agreeing to develop a range of advanced abilities, such as cyberwarfare, artificial intelligence and hypersonic weapons, to share technology and increase interoperability among their armed forces.
China sees Aukus as part of US efforts to contain and confront Beijing’s growing power in the region, and has repeatedly accused the alliance of encouraging nuclear proliferation and arms race.
New Zealand, a member of the “Five Eyes” Anglosphere intelligence alliance along with the Aukus nations and Canada, has expressed an interest in joining Pillar I.
On Thursday, Zhang also said that the Chinese military was “always on alert, resolutely counteracting and firmly defending China’s territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests”.
He hit out at the US and the Philippines over recent joint military exercises, saying the US, which is not a direct stakeholder in the South China Sea disputes, should stop its “malicious acts of interfering and meddling, instigating conflicts and creating troubles”.
Zhang also defended Chinese coastguard staff over their handling of run-ins with Philippine coastguard vessels, accusing the Philippines of “hyping up” “fake” stories of the encounters.
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