New Zealand must boost military spending as Pacific power struggle intensifies, review finds

New Zealand needs to spend more on its military and strengthen ties with countries in the Indo-Pacific to help meet the challenges of great power rivalry and climate change, the government said amid an ongoing defence review. Launching the country's first ever national security strategy, defence minister Andrew Little said New Zealand faced more geostrategic challenges than it had in decades. Chinese state-sponsored actors had exploited cyber vulnerabilities in ways that undermined New Zealand's security, said another document that did not provide further details. New Zealand's military needed more investment, equipment and training to be ready for armed conflict and disaster relief operations, according to a policy document published alongside the strategy. The wide-ranging review also prioritised deeper defence ties with New Zealand's only ally, Australia, and closer links to other partners in the region, including the US, whose presence in the Indo-Pacific was "Critical" for New Zealand's security. Long protective of its independence, New Zealand famously banned nuclear-armed and nuclear powered ships from its waters in 1984. Little has said New Zealand, which spends about 1% of its GDP on defence, needed to make big investments to face these challenges and meet expectations from neighbours and partners for the country to do more.