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Navy official admits US ‘neglected’ South Pacific as Five Eyes intelligence alliance secretly meets in New Zealand
- US Navy Pacific fleet commander Admiral Samuel J. Paparo said Washington was now ‘engaging more deeply’ with the region after its past neglect
- His remarks to local media came as representatives of the Five Eyes intelligence alliance have been quietly meeting in New Zealand’s South Island
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As the United States seeks to bolster its presence in the Pacific in a bid to counter China’s influence, a senior US Navy official visiting New Zealand this week admitted Washington had “neglected” the region for two decades.
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US Navy Pacific fleet commander Admiral Samuel J. Paparo told local media that the US was strengthening its presence in the region amid “concerning actions” by China, including its recent security pact with Solomon Islands.
“We can say, plainly, that the United States has neglected its relationship in the South Pacific, and we’re accounting for that by engaging more deeply,” he said in an interview on Tuesday.
Paparo was expected to meet New Zealand’s chief of navy and the joint forces commander, before travelling to Fiji and Tonga, Stuff News reported.
His comments came as representatives of Five Eyes – made up of the intelligence agencies from New Zealand, Australia, the United States, Canada and Britain – have this week been quietly meeting in New Zealand’s South Island.
FBI operatives have been on the ground for several days, The New Zealand Herald reported, while plain-clothed officers were seen in various unmarked vehicles at the luxurious five-star Millbrook Resort near Arrowtown, outside Queenstown, on Wednesday.
Andrew Little, the minister responsible for the country’s intelligence agency and security bureau, confirmed the gathering on Wednesday.
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