New Zealand Prime Minister Chris Hipkins said on Monday that the Pacific region is becoming more contested, less predictable, and less secure as China becomes more assertive.

New Zealand Prime Minister Chris Hipkins said on Monday, “China’s rise and how it seeks to exert that influence is also a major driver of the increasing strategic competition, particularly in our wider home region, the Indo-Pacific,” Hipkins said in a speech to the China Business Summit.

Hipkins added that it is important that we continue to engage with China – to listen and to build dialogue, to pursue New Zealand’s interests, and to add a voice where it matters.