Kaya Selby
RNZ Pacific journalist
New Zealand is supporting
an internal review of Fiji’s national security and
intelligence system, amid claims by the United States of
Chinese infiltration.
The Fijian government announced
a six-month partnership with the New Zealand Security
Intelligence Service (NZSIS) that it said would “assess the
existing intelligence structure and develop evidence-based
options for reform”.
Its focus will be on
information-sharing between countries, which, on Fiji’s
part, requires a reform programme “to address fragmentation”
across government agencies.
“The review will examine
potential changes to intelligence functions, governance,
workforce and operations, including the risks, benefits and
requirements for implementing the proposed changes,” the
Fiji government said in a statement.
“The reforms will
also focus on ensuring appropriate oversight and
accountability to support a sustainable national
intelligence system.”
In a threat assessment report
released in August, the NZSIS said it had identified
individuals carrying out “espionage and foreign interference
activities in the Pacific” on behalf of “a foreign
intelligence service”.
It also made note of
long-running Chinese espionage activities in New Zealand,
calling it “the only country we have detected doing it at
scale”.
Last week, the US State Department designated
hotel owner Zhao Fugang – a prominent figure among the
Chinese diaspora in Fiji – for “significant corruption”,
claiming Zhao actively pays bribes to Fijian citizens to
“advance China-based government, business, and criminal
interests”.
On Wednesday, the Chinese embassy in New
Zealand denied further allegations by the US that China
backed malicious cyber activity specifically targeting a
Pacific regional body based in Suva, and that Chinese
Communist Party-sponsored cyber crime was commonplace in the
Pacific.
RNZ Pacific’s requests to the US Embassy in
Suva for comment on both matters have gone
unanswered.
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