Zürcher Nachrichten - New Zealand internal report warns of Chinese military forays in Pacific

The warning was issued in a December 2025 report by New Zealand's Defence Force and Ministry of Foreign Affairs while they were monitoring a People's Liberation Army navy (PLA-N) flotilla in the Philippine Sea.

"New Zealand officials are in close contact with Australian counterparts and maintaining situational awareness of these vessels," said the document obtained by AFP under freedom of information laws.

"More broadly we anticipate that Chinese actions, such as the PLA-N task group that transited the Tasman Sea in February and China's launch of an inter-continental ballistic missile into the Pacific in September 2024, will be a persistent feature of our strategic environment."

The 15-page report was sent to New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and his ministers for defence, foreign affairs and intelligence.

China has directed billions of dollars into defence in recent years, a trend that has unnerved some governments despite Beijing insisting its aims are peaceful.

Beijing's foreign ministry said on Friday that it was "not aware" of the document obtained by AFP, when asked about it at a news conference.

"China's military development is for the purpose of safeguarding national sovereignty, security and development interests, and is not directed against any country," ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun told reporters.

- 'Incremental expansion' -

The navy in particular has expanded rapidly as Chinese leaders seek to grow their country's reach in the Pacific, where the United States has long been the predominant military power.

Wellington's concerns over Chinese military movements had already been heightened by the February 2025 deployment of three Chinese warships to the Tasman Sea between Australia and New Zealand.

Most of the report given to AFP was redacted, citing privacy, national security and confidentiality concerns.

But in the remaining sections, officials said China's February 2025 deployment to the Tasman Sea was conducted in accordance with international law, including the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.

"This included the manner in which the task group notified its intentions to conduct live fire exercises, which we consider did not align with international best practice and caused several commercial airlines to change route," the report said.

Beijing's December deployment to the Philippine Sea "was consistent with China's incremental expansion of its maritime security presence in the South Pacific over the past decade", it said.

"Beijing has deployed a broad range of naval vessels to the region, including but not limited to hospital ships, large amphibious vessels in support of humanitarian assistance and disaster relief operations, and outer space event support ships."

Space support ships are designed to track rocket launches, satellites and intercontinental missile activity.

New Zealand's Defence Force did not identify the type of one of the naval vessels deployed by China to the South Pacific, saying it would "be likely to prejudice the security or defence of New Zealand".

It declined to release details on how New Zealand would respond, for the same reason.

"In all scenarios, New Zealand's response would be in accordance with international law," the defence force said.

M.Hug--NZN