SYDNEY – New Zealand Foreign Affairs Minister Nanaia Mahuta stated on Saturday she had expressed considerations over the South China Sea and tensions within the Taiwan Strait throughout talks together with her Chinese counterpart on the finish of a go to to Beijing.
Mahuta additionally stated in a press release she “noted New Zealand’s deep concerns regarding the human rights situation in Xinjiang and the erosion of rights and freedoms in Hong Kong”, throughout her assembly with Chinese Foreign Affairs Minister Qin Gang.
“Nanaia Mahuta expressed concerns over developments in the South China Sea and increasing tensions in the Taiwan Strait,” the international minister’s assertion stated.
Mahuta stated she reiterated New Zealand’s condemnation of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. China is a key ally of Russia and each have criticized the US and NATO for undermining international stability.
Mahuta arrived in China on Wednesday for the four-day journey, the primary by a New Zealand minister since 2019, and likewise met China’s prime diplomat Wang Yi in addition to business and ladies leaders.
Wang instructed Mahuta that China and New Zealand had all the time revered and trusted one another, based on a press release by the Chinese international ministry.
New Zealand has lengthy been seen because the reasonable voice on China within the Five Eyes intelligence-sharing alliance additionally involving the United States, Australia, Britain, and Canada. But New Zealand’s tone on safety and China’s rising presence within the South Pacific toughened prior to now 12 months after China and the Solomon Islands struck a safety pact.
New Zealand has constantly expressed considerations in regards to the potential militarisation of the Pacific, amid China’s army buildup within the South China Sea.
China views democratically ruled Taiwan as its personal territory and has by no means renounced the choice of utilizing power to take the island below its management, and claims a big a part of the South China Sea.
Mahuta stated the nations appeared ahead to resuming in-person dialogue on a spread of points following a spot of a number of years in face-to-face contacts.
She invited Qin to go to New Zealand, and likewise flagged a possible go to by New Zealand Prime Minister Chris Hipkins to China, maybe this 12 months. Hipkins turned prime minister in January after Jacinda Ardern resigned. —Reuters
Source: www.gmanetwork.com
