New Zealand’s Foreign Affairs Minister Nanaia Mahuta has committed to the nation’s “vital” partnership with the Five Eyes spy network a day after stating in a speech on China that she’s “uncomfortable” with expanding its remit.
In a statement released on Tuesday, Mahuta walked back her remarks, recommitting to the “security and intelligence partnership” with the other members of the Five Eyes intelligence network, describing it as vital to the nation’s defense.
New Zealand is a real beneficiary of the arrangement and will continue to actively engage with the Five Eyes alliance as we always have.
On Monday, the foreign minister told the New Zealand China Council that “we are uncomfortable with expanding the remit of the Five Eyes relationship,” seen as a condemnation of the group’s recent statements critical of China’s alleged human rights violations against Uighurs in Xinjiang and the crackdown in Hong Kong.
Beijing has responded to the criticism thrown at it by claiming that “the Five Eyes have taken coordinated steps to gang up on China,” opposing its intervention into the Asian nation’s domestic affairs.
New Zealand has, in the past, sought to distance itself from the Five Eyes network’s comments on activities in China, viewing it as being “out of the remit” of the group and risking the relationship between Wellington and Beijing.
On Wednesday, Australia’s Foreign Affairs Minister Marise Payne will arrive in New Zealand to meet with Mahuta, the first time the pair will have engaged in a face-to-face meeting since their borders reopened after getting Covid under control.
Australia’s relationship with China has worsened since the pandemic began, after Canberra called for an inquiry into the origins of the Covid-19 pandemic in Wuhan, which Beijing took insult at.
Like this story? Share it with a friend!
New Zealand’s Foreign Affairs Minister Nanaia Mahuta has committed to the nation’s “vital” partnership with the Five Eyes spy network a day after stating in a speech on China that she’s “uncomfortable” with expanding its remit. Read Full Article at RT.com Read More
A carefully planned US intelligence operation revealed… The post Origins of the 2011 War on Syria. It Was a Conspiracy appeared first on Global Research. A carefully planned US intelligence operation revealed… The post Origins of the 2011 War on Syria. It Was a Conspiracy appeared first on Global Research. Read More
A gathering of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) in Abuja, Federal Republic of Nigeria, on December 15 failed to resolve the political differences between the regional body and three of its members: Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger. These three states were targeted for sanctions by ECOWAS after the military seizure of power […]
Have you ever been at such a low point in your life that it seems like there is no hope of ever turning things around no matter how hard you try? Right now, there are millions upon millions of Americans that have been emotionally crushed by this economic downturn, and many of them have completely […]
