Will Chinese fleet circumnavigate NZ or Australia?
Defence Minister Judith Collins warns Chinese ships in Tasman have ‘enormous strike power’
Defence Minister Judith Collins vented frustration at the Chinese Government for not informing New Zealand that it would be sending a “highly capable” strike force with “enormous strike power” down the east coast of Australia.
The strike force, comprised of three ships, came as close as 150 nautical miles – 278km – from the coast of Sydney, according to the Financial Times.
Collins said the Chinese Government and Chinese Embassy had given New Zealand no notice that it would be sending the strike force into the region.
“They have not deigned to advise us on what they are doing in the middle of the Tasman Sea,” Collins said.
She added that China had only given New Zealand 24 hours warning it would fire an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) into the Pacific Ocean last year.
All this as the Cook Islands sign a secret deal with China that allows them to encroach into the NZ Realm.
For those on the Left screaming any criticism of the Cook Islands is colonials, go fuck yourself.
Let me be as clear as I can be to our woke friends on the Left, If China gains a Port in the Cook Islands they will bring their repugnant Fishing Militia to pillage our NZ fisheries with illegal fishing piracy.
The woke decolonisation brigade can either protect the environment or scream about xenophobia, you can’t pretend to do both.
This isn’t about colonialism, this is about China encroaching into our realm, and now there is a Chinese military fleet in the Tasman Sea.
The Cook Islands signing a secret deal and this fleet appearing off our shore is not a coincidence you sleepy hobbits.
As TDB has been pointing out for years, Rocket Labs being a member of the American Military Industrial Complex has made us a legitimate target for China and Russia.
The insane decision to allow the Americans to define our relationship with Niue and the Cooks in 2024 (which I as the only blogger in NZ noted at the time) has allowed China to convince the Cooks PM that America’s redefinition of relationship meant he could sign a secret deal with them!
MFAT’s incompetence fucked us into the position we are now in.
The question now about this Chinese fleet is where are they going?
Will they turn around and go home now?
Or, will they continue down the Tasman Sea and then cut Left and go under Australia and circumnavigate the entire Southern coast of Australia?
Or, will they continue to Antarctica?
Or, will they continue down the Tasman Sea and then cut Right and go under NZ, cutting up through the Chatham Islands and then dock in the Cooks?
The fact we have been caught totally unaware by these Chinese military ships should force the sleepy hobbits of muddle NuZilind to finally comprehend that we are no longer in a benign environment.
Mordor has come to the Shire.
The real danger ow is Trump notices that and demands a nuclear ship visit NZ.
Increasingly having independent opinion in a mainstream media environment which mostly echo one another has become more important than ever, so if you value having an independent voice – please donate here.
The Chinese fleet has done better than the phantom Russian fleet a century and a half ago. The Chinese at least got here, that said the paranoia remains.
Martyn is right that MFAT has failed dismally as have our political class over years in the Pacific. What is missing is the obvious question of why the Pacific nations are selling concessions to strip mine their fisheries to China? I’m sure we too would happily strip those fisheries.
Oh the hysteria about a couple of boats cruising around .We were gungho when we sent one of our tubs up to cruise the coast of china not so long ago pretending we would stop any invasion of Taiwan .What a joke we are .We cant even buy two preordered ferries and now Luxon wants to fund a full blown navy ,army and air force .Next problem who is going to man all this hard ware ?is he not aware that all the young people have or soon will have left NZ .looks like we will have to recall DADS ARMY .
The last NZ Navy expedition to Samoa resulted in a sunk, destroyed ship–HMNZS Manawanui–off the coast of Upolu, and environmental damage. Look out Chinese!
It is Cold War type paranoia to be concerned at some Chinese ships cruising around. The world order is changing and BRICS is rising, NZ should at least leave 5 Eyes.
hysteria my goodness it really was with morning report this morning between Judith collins and Paddy Gower, the latter can’t help himself, have they landed on Brighton Beach yet, what an absolute beat up. But thern whatever the US says goes in little old Aotearoa.
It’s possible that the chinese ships may circumnavigate NZ.
But they may also enter Wgtn harbor, and start circumnavigating Soames Island, as a show of force.
And then the NZ govt will respond, when Defense Minister Collins and other high ranking ministers, head down to the waterfront to confront the aggressors.
I can imagine Minister Collins full of defiance and bravado, suddenly turning toward one of the other ministers and pushing unsuspecting Nicola Willis into the harbor, while shaking her fist and shouting at the chinese: “Two wongs don’t make a white” and “One chinese is worth two indians” and “I want no boats…I want no boats in Wgtn harbor…do you understand me…no boats!”.
The DPS then help retrieve, a bedraggled bewildered badly shaken half drowned hypothermic Nicola, from the depths.
On one side you have “freedom of navigation”, but only, it would seem, on one side
The key difference here is that China is saying that others can’t sail through international waters whereas Aussie / us etc are not saying that we are just keeping an eye on them while they do it.
China clearly making a statement here but as long as they stay in international waters they can do what they like.
So according to Judith Collins the Chinese flotilla has “enormous strike power”. I suspect maybe power to take out the New Zealand Navy, but not enough to do serious harm to the rest of us. Never-the-less, Collins, her like-minded others, and New Zealanders in general, should consider the implications if there is any truth to her statement. The New Zealand government is playing a game in which it has taken the side of Donald Trump’s US in a burgeoning trade war between China and the US, a trade war which could erupt into a shooting war at any point, a war in which Trump will want his allies, New Zealand and Australia, to do the fighting.
New Zealand is being lined up as the next proxy warrior for the US. Once New Zealand’s economy and military assets have been obliterated in a war designed to “weaken” China, the US will cut New Zealand loose as quickly and easily as it has abandoned Ukraine. The hobbits do need to think again.
To be clear, is the writer’s thesis that NZ would be *less* at risk from Chinese military efforts if NZ weren’t aligned with and supported by the US and Australian militaries? Apart from wishful thinking and a deep appreciation for how nice it would be if unicorns were real, what’s that based on?
Oh no! Maybe the filthy American loving traitors of the NZDF can retaliate by illegally sailing in sovereign Chinese (not international) waters again, like they did to provoke this in the first place.
The dashboard bobblehead Judith has not written ching chang on the receipt but she has pen in hand
Perhaps we should flag down the Chinese navy and ask if they’d like a side hustle doing interisland ferry runs?
good idea ,we could pay them with useless government ministers
If the US were to come to our defence under the new Trump model they would likely demand 50% of the country as reimbursement. The South Island would suffice. They may even egg the Chinese on and then do a “piece” deal with them like the current Saudi Arabia style meeting.
Are they looking for the Cook Islands?
Only two foreign states have ever invaded Aotearoa. They were Great Britain and Australia from 1860 onwards.
The United States made detailed plans for an invasion of New Zealand in 1908, but the plans were not put into effect.
New Zealand invaded China in 1900, in collaboration with Britain, Australia and the United States. Recently it has been participating in provocative naval exercise in the waters separating two Chinese provinces.
China has never invaded New Zealand and has never given any sign of intention to invade.
The New Zealand government knows very well that the only nations which would seriously contemplate an invasion of New Zealand are the Commonwealth of Australia and the United States of America and the circumstances in which such an invasion would be mounted would be if the people of Aotearoa were to dispense with the colonialist regime installed by force of British arms in the nineteenth century.
This talk of a Chinese threat is make-believe by a regime that has taken disinformation to a whole new level.
China is just saying to New Zealand and Australia: “In 1900 you joined the US and Britain in an Anglo-American imperialist invasion of China, but China is now incalculably stronger than it was in 1900. Do not imagine that you can repeat your aggression now or at any time in the future”
Very good interview of Helen Clark by Guyon Espiner on current geo political situation and how NZ should respond. Guess what, it’s not what this govert is doing. She says quit five eys, no use now Trump is Russian stooge, also information is notoriously inaccurate and should not be leading foreign policy. Def get out of AUKUS. Continue with the previous balancing act and align with clever south east Asian nations.