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.
