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We are also concerned by North Korea, Iran and China supplying military related technologies to Russia or supporting its industries to fuel its illegal invasion of Ukraine. No responsible international citizen should be helping Russia to invade and retain another country’s sovereign territory.
Looking southwards, with 80 percent of our annual exports to the Indo-Pacific and over one third of all global shipping transiting the South China Sea, safe navigation is of critical importance for our trade-dependent country.
The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) provides the legal basis for managing overlapping claims of sovereignty. And so the tensions we see there are another example of the rule of law, and maritime security, being recklessly and unnecessarily challenged.
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In March we were delighted to host China’s Foreign Minister, Wang Yi. While an innately complex relationship, we celebrated with China 10 years since the bilateral relationship was elevated to a Comprehensive Strategic Relationship.
With tariff free access for our dairy products into China secured, our economic relationship continues to flourish.
We welcomed the positive and frank discussions we had with Wang Yi, both on issues we agreed on, and those we did not, and look forward to further engagements with China this year and over the term.
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Source: New Zealand Government
Speaker: Rt. Hon. Winston Peters, Deputy Prime Minister
Format: Speech
China Policy Research 