China has slammed recent comments made by US President Joe Biden and New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern regarding Beijing’s increased activity in the Pacific region, calling it a gross interference in China’s internal affairs.
Biden and Ardern met on Tuesday in Washington, where they released a joint statement expressing shared concerns over Beijing’s recent security agreement with the Solomon Islands.
“The establishment of a persistent military presence in the Pacific by a state that does not share our values or security interests would fundamentally alter the strategic balance of the region and pose national-security concerns to both our countries,” read a statement from the White House.
“We have more work to do on these Pacific islands,” said Biden before his meeting with Ardern, who stated that both the US and New Zealand were strongly aligned in “furthering the Pacific values and the focus that Pacific island leaders have determined for themselves.”