China’s recent military activity has again delayed the Government’s major defence plan, the defence minister says.
Completing the much-delayed Defence Capability Plan, which will map out billions in defence spending for the coming decades, has been pushed into early 2025, Defence Minister Judith Collins told The Post.
Defence has been challenged this year by needing to cut $130 million in spending to meet its budget, including through redundancies of civilian staff, and by the sinking of navy vessel Manawanui off the coast of Samoa.
“Everything's been changing this year and, as you will know, we are living in a more difficult, strategic environment,” Collins said.
“The Chinese navy has Renhai-class cruiser and destroyer visited Port Vila in Vanuatu in October this year. We've had the intercontinental ballistic missile on the 25th of September this year with a mock warhead fitted to it.
“In addition... the Chinese government has now established five new bases in Antarctica, and it is currently looking for a sixth. There is a big increase in activity.”
Collins said China’s firing of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), landing near French Polynesia, was the first launch in four decades.
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“People need to understand that if it can go to Kiribati, it can get to New Zealand.”
And the visit of China’s Xianyang destroyer to Vanuatu was “unusual”, though she did not know the reason for its visit: “They didn’t actually send me a note telling me why they were there.”
“It's China's most capable surface combatant, and it can carry a large number of weapons, including anti-ship cruise missiles and surface-to-air missiles. China itself says the ship has the most advanced weapons and equipment.
“It is not that unusual for ships to drop into ports on the way back from something that they're doing. This doesn't seem to have been the case. So it's an unusual activity. It’s certainly furtherest that a Chinese ship [of this class] has been into the South-West Pacific.”
Collins said the Government had “quickly realised” this year that Defence was “left in a state that beggars belief”, and the new defence secretary and chief of defence needed to be happy with the capability plan.
She would not say what the delay in the capability plan would mean for Budget 2025, due in May.
Collins’ comments about Chinese military activity comes days after Labour declared it would not sign New Zealand onto the Aukus defence technology pact, as it did not want to participate in a “China containment” strategy.
Chief of Defence Air Marshal Tony Davies, speaking to MPs at a select committee hearing on Tuesday afternoon, said on the security situation that, “things are going downhill quite quickly”.
“I'm really concerned about the external security environment and what's happening ... at some point we need to be prepared to make decisions which could see our sailors, our soldiers and aviators going into harm’s way, to protect our interests. That worries me,” he said.
Davies said “incidentally” one of New Zealand’s P-8s was “on the scene” of China’s ICBM test and provided observations to Australia, New Zealand’s defence ally.
Of the capability plan, he said replacing the navy’s ageing Seasprite helicopters would be one of the first decisions within the plan.
On the prospect of New Zealand “joining” Aukus pillar two, Secretary of Defence Brook Barrington, also at the hearing, said it was “perfectly orthodox” for the Government to explore participation.
Officials were yet to provide “robust and well interrogated advice” on the matter.
“You do not join Aukus pillar two. You agree to collaborate on a specific issue under the rubric of Aukus pillar two. Just seems to me that in some respects, perhaps we're getting a little ahead of ourselves on this,” he said.
