The FBI opened a new office in Wellington, New Zealand, to expand its presence overseas amid growing security threats posed by cybercrimes and Chinese Communist Party (CCP) influence.
“The FBI has had a strong relationship and collaborated closely with our counterparts in New Zealand for years,” said FBI Director Kash Patel. “Expanding the Wellington office demonstrates the strength and evolution of our partnership as we continue to work together to address our shared security objectives in the region.”
According to Chargé d’affaires David Gehrenbeck, the office will play a key role in the region’s security collaboration. “Building on its foundation laid in 2017, this upgraded presence will support joint investigations, information sharing, and capacity-building across New Zealand, Antarctica, Samoa, Niue, Cook Islands, and Tonga,” Gehrenbeck explained.
The U.S. Embassy in New Zealand noted that while the FBI has had a presence in the country for several years, launching a “full Legat position in the country will strengthen and enhance the longstanding cooperation with a key Five Eyes partner in the southwestern Pacific region.”
Patel said in a video statement that the office “shows the world that the FBI is actually prioritizing a permanent presence across all Five Eyes countries.”
“Here in New Zealand, we had not had that until this historic moment, so we are truly humbled with the reception we have been given,” he said, describing that New Zealand and the U.S. will collaborate on “some of the most important global issues of our time.”
“Countering the CCP in the [US’s Indo-Pacific Command] area, countering the narcotics trade, working against cyber intrusion and ransomware operations and most importantly protecting our respective citizenry,” Patel added.
China condemned Patel’s remarks, with foreign ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun stating, as per the Associated Press, “China believes that cooperation between countries should not target any third party.”
“Seeking so-called absolute security through forming small groupings under the banner of countering China does not help keep the Asia Pacific and the world at large peaceful and stable,” he said.
