WELLINGTON: China’s embassy in New Zealand rebuked New Zealand Excellent Minister Jacinda Ardern for comments the girl made at the NATO summit about Chinese assertiveness, calling all of them “misguided” and “wrong”.
Ardern said on Wed in Madrid that China has “in recent times also become more assertive and more willing to challenge international rules and norms. ”
“We have taken note of the relevant comment created by the New Zealand side at the NATO program, which includes some misdirected accusations against China, ” an charge spokesman said in the statement on the website on Thursday. “That allegation is certainly wrong and thus disappointing. ”
“It is obvious that such comment is not really helpful for deepening shared trust between the 2 countries, ” the statement said.
New Zealand, which is heavily reliant upon China for industry, has often shied away from direct critique of Beijing.
However , it has toughened its tone lately on both security and Beijing’s growing presence in the South Pacific following the recent putting your signature on of a security pact between China and nearby Solomon Islands.
The charge statement also referred to comments by Ardern about attempts to disrupt and destabilise the Pacific plus said any escalation of tension in the Pacific “cannot have been caused by China’s cooperation using its island partners to advance sustainable development. ”
Such cooperation had nothing related to militarisation of the region, the statement added. “If militarisation does exist in the South Pacific, it is apparent to all who and what is fuelling such tensions. ”
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