SYDNEY
\nNew Zealand\u2019s spy service warned Thursday that China is the most active power engaging in foreign interference in the country, sparking a sharp rebuke from Beijing.
\nNew Zealand faces the \u201cmost challenging national security environment of recent times,\u201d the country\u2019s intelligence agency said in an annual risk assessment.
\nKey drivers of the deteriorating threat environment were less stable relationships between states, deepening polarization and growing grievances.
\nThough several states seek to manipulate New Zealand\u2019s government and society, China remains the \u201cmost active,\u201d the New Zealand Security Intelligence Service said.
\nChina\u2019s embassy in Wellington accused the agency of sowing suspicion and \u201cpoisoning the two countries\u2019 relations.\u201d
\n\u201cThe accusations sound very familiar as they rehash smears and slanders fabricated elsewhere, repackaged for the New Zealand audience,\u201d an embassy spokesperson said.
\n\u201cWe have regarded, and are willing to continue to regard New Zealand as a friend and partner. But the healthy and stable development of bilateral relations depends on the joint efforts from both sides.\u201d
\nNew Zealand\u2019s spy agency specifically accused China\u2019s United Front Work Department of engaging in foreign interference to build influence outside of China.
\nNot all of its activity amounted to foreign interference, and some could be beneficial, it said.
\n\u201cHowever, its activities are regularly deceptive, coercive and corruptive and come with risks for New Zealand organizations.\u201d
\nThe agency cautioned New Zealand businesses that under China\u2019s national security legislation, individuals and organizations in China must comply with requests from the country\u2019s security services.
\nThe Indo-Pacific region is a focal point for strategic competition between powers, the security service said.
\nChina is a \u201cparticularly assertive and powerful actor,\u201d seeking to extend and embed its influence across the region, the report said.
\n\u201cIt has demonstrated both a willingness and capability to undertake intelligence activity that targets New Zealand\u2019s national interests.\u201d
\nWithout naming countries, the intelligence service highlighted the routine use of \u201ctransnational repression\u201d by foreign states, often by co-opting people to collect information about someone within their own diaspora living in New Zealand.
\nLooking at other risks, the agency said the most plausible extremist threat in New Zealand remained that of a lone actor, radicalized in an increasingly polarized, grievance-laden online world, who attacks without forewarning.
\nYoung and vulnerable people were at the highest risk of radicalization, it said.
\nThe intelligence organization said it was \u201calmost certain\u201d that some foreign espionage activity was going undetected.
\nForeign countries were targeting critical organizations, infrastructure and technology \u2014 mostly through cyber exploitation, it said.
\n\u201cIt is not just intelligence officers conducting this activity,\u201d the agency said.
\n\u201cSome governments take a \u2018whole of state approach\u2019 to intelligence gathering, which includes utilising businesses, universities, think tanks, or cyber actors to act on their behalf.\u201d
\nGlobal competition and insecurity drive most of the espionage activity against New Zealand, it said.
\nThe service cited \u201cmultiple examples\u201d of states seeking covert access to information on government policy positions, security partnerships, technological innovations and research.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
SYDNEY New Zealand\u2019s spy service warned Thursday that China is the most active power engaging in foreign interference in the country, sparking a sharp rebuke from Beijing. New Zealand faces the \u201cmost challenging national security environment of recent times,\u201d the country\u2019s intelligence agency said in an annual risk assessment. Key drivers of the deteriorating threat […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":498252,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-498228","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n