WELLINGTON, New Zealand AP - FBI Director Kash Patel provoked diplomatic discomfort in New Zealand by suggesting the opening of a new office in the capital aims to counter China's influence, drawing polite dismissals from Wellington and ire from Beijing.
Patel was in Wellington on Thursday to open the FBI's first standalone office in New Zealand and to meet senior officials. The arrangement aligns New Zealand with FBI missions in other Five Eyes intelligence-sharing nations, which also include the United States, Australia, Canada and the United Kingdom.
The Wellington office will provide a local mission for FBI staff who have operated with oversight from Canberra, Australia, since 2017.
Patel's China remarks prompted awkward responses
In remarks made in a video published Thursday by the U.S. Embassy, Patel said the office would help counter Chinese Communist Party influence in the contested South Pacific Ocean.