FBI Director Kash Patel just dropped a diplomatic bombshell in Wellington, New Zealand, by opening a new office with a pointed jab at Beijing’s growing clout in the South Pacific.
The event, which unfolded on Thursday, saw Patel inaugurate the FBI’s first standalone post in New Zealand’s capital, aligning the nation with other Five Eyes intelligence partners like the U.S., Australia, Canada, and the U.K.
AP News reported that while this was a moment of celebration, it has also stirred up a hornet’s nest of controversy with China.
Before this move, FBI operations in New Zealand were managed from Canberra, Australia, since 2017, a quieter arrangement that didn’t ruffle as many feathers.
During his visit, Patel met with senior New Zealand officials, but it was his remarks in a U.S. Embassy video about countering the Chinese Communist Party’s influence in the region that stole the spotlight.
Beijing didn’t waste time clapping back, with foreign ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun stating on Friday, “China believes that cooperation between countries should not target any third party.” Well, that’s a fine sentiment, but it sidesteps the reality of strategic chess games being played across the Pacific.
New Zealand’s own ministers, however, seemed eager to dodge the drama, with Foreign Minister Winston Peters noting, “When we were talking, we never raised that issue.”
Judith Collins, the minister for security services, was equally dismissive when pressed about Patel’s China comments, telling Radio New Zealand, “I don’t respond to other people’s press releases.” That’s a polite way to say, “We’re not touching this with a ten-foot pole,” and it reflects New Zealand’s tightrope walk between the U.S. and its largest trading partner, China.
The government’s official statement on Thursday focused on shared priorities like combating online child exploitation and drug smuggling, conspicuously avoiding any mention of Beijing.
As the smallest Five Eyes partner, this remote nation of 5 million—once seen as strategically insignificant—now finds itself a key player in the contested South Pacific, caught between superpowers vying for influence.
The FBI’s expansion ties into the Trump administration’s broader push to sound the alarm on Beijing’s ambitions in the Pacific, a concern echoed by U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s June call for Indo-Pacific nations to ramp up military spending to 5% of GDP.
Over the past decade, China has been courting smaller Pacific island nations, a trend Foreign Minister Peters blamed partly on U.S. neglect of the region until recently, as he told The Associated Press in 2024.
Peters even urged American officials to “get engaged and try to turn up,” a not-so-subtle nudge that the U.S. needs to show up if it wants to counterbalance Beijing’s charm offensive.
Back in New Zealand, the FBI office opening hasn’t exactly been met with ticker-tape parades, as thousands of negative comments flooded social media, reflecting deep public unease.
Jason Young, an international relations expert at Victoria University of Wellington, suggested this backlash mirrors broader discomfort with U.S. political directions, saying, “I think it would be more a reflection of some of the deep unease that many people in New Zealand see with some of the political choices that are being made in America at the moment.” That’s a fair point, though it’s worth asking if this skepticism risks ignoring legitimate security concerns in the region.
Adding fuel to the fire, a weekend protest against the FBI office was planned, signaling that Patel’s visit and comments have struck a nerve among Kiwis who value their nation’s traditionally neutral stance on naming specific countries in regional disputes.