Western intelligence agencies and cybersecurity organizations have been accusing Chinese hackers of conducting cyber attacks worldwide, stealing government and business secrets, as well as personal information. New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon stated in an interview that New Zealand will expose more Chinese espionage cases as part of its strategy to enhance national awareness of security threats.
Being one of the four Asian countries attending this year’s NATO summit in the United States, Luxon, while in Washington DC, told the Financial Times that New Zealand aims to raise awareness within the business sector about the threat posed by China, following the strategies adopted by the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia.
He mentioned that intelligence agencies are becoming more open about such cases to “increase people’s awareness of this issue and threat.”
New Zealand has also joined countries like the UK and the USA in publicly condemning Chinese cyber espionage activities. On March 26th this year, the New Zealand government stated that hackers supported by the Chinese Communist Party launched “malicious” cyber attacks in 2021, breaching the New Zealand parliament.
The New Zealand Government Communications Security Bureau (GCSB) previously confirmed that a Chinese hacker group known as “APT40” invaded computer systems connected to the parliament in 2021. GCSB stated that APT40 falls under the jurisdiction of China’s Ministry of State Security.
On July 9th, cybersecurity agencies from the US, UK, Canada, New Zealand, Japan, South Korea, and Germany, jointly published a statement led by Australia regarding the Chinese-supported cyber organization APT40. The statement pointed out that APT40 “carries out malicious cyber operations for the Ministry of State Security (MSS) of the People’s Republic of China… reports have claimed the organization is headquartered in Haikou, Hainan province, China, undertaking missions dispatched by the Hainan Public Security Department and the Hainan State Security Bureau.”
FBI Director Christopher Wray stated on April 9th this year that China poses the primary modern threat. He warned that the number of Chinese hackers exceeds FBI cyber personnel by more than 50 times, with a keen eye on various countries’ critical infrastructure.
“Exposing these matters and making them public is necessary,” Luxon told the Financial Times.
As a member of the Indo-Pacific region, New Zealand closely monitors the South China Sea disputes. On June 10th, New Zealand’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, Winston Peters, visited the Philippines for talks with the Philippine Foreign Minister Enrique A. Manalo. They discussed improving bilateral relations and the security situation in the South China Sea. Peters had previously criticized China’s attempts to increase its military presence in the Pacific island nations.
Luxon, in his discussion with the Financial Times, emphasized that China must fulfill its obligations under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. He also expressed support for upholding international law and freedom of navigation, as well as willingness to participate in joint military exercises with allies like the US, UK, Japan, and the Philippines.
On April 7th, the US, Japan, Australia, and the Philippines conducted their first joint military exercise in the South China Sea, while China simultaneously engaged in military “combat patrols” in the disputed waters.
Luxon also showed interest in the AUKUS submarine agreement between the US, UK, and Australia.