Beijing denies threat as FBI opens new office in New Zealand to ‘counter China’

Claims by the head of the FBI that China is a threat to the Indo-Pacific are groundless, Beijing said as the American security agency opened its first permanent office in New Zealand.

“We strongly oppose any attempt to make groundless assertions or vilification against China out of the Cold War mentality,” the Chinese embassy in Wellington said on Thursday. “Such acts are against people’s will and are doomed to fail.”

The comments came after the US Federal Bureau of Investigation announced it had opened a dedicated attaché office in the New Zealand capital, where staff had previously been overseen by its Australian division.

It brings to an end the South Pacific country’s status as the only member of the “Five Eyes” alliance without a stand-alone FBI station. The Five Eyes intelligence-sharing group also includes the United States, Britain, Canada and Australia.

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Should China be concerned about the latest Japan-Philippines security pact?

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In Wellington to open the office, FBI director Kash Patel said the upgrade was a “historic moment” which showed the world that the agency “is actually prioritising a permanent presence across all Five Eyes countries”.