Pacific region less secure due to China's assertiveness, says New Zealand PM Chris Hipkins

As China asserts itself more, the Pacific region is becoming more contentious and less secure, said New Zealand Prime Minister Chris Hipkins, who stressed the necessity for his country to cooperate with like-minded allies while still engaging with Beijing.Hipkins stated in a speech at the China Business Summit in Auckland that China's rise and the manner in which it intends to exercise that influence is a major driver of the growing strategic competition, particularly in the Indo-Pacific.“Our region is becoming more contested, less predictable, and less secure,” Reuters quoted the Prime Minister as saying ."And that poses challenges for small countries like New Zealand that are reliant on the stability and predictability of international rules for our prosperity and security," he added.The relationship needed careful management but China remained a key trading partner, he added.Hipkins' speech at the annual event comes less than a month after he led a successful trade mission to China, New Zealand’s largest trading partner, where he face some domestic criticism for not being as vocal on human rights and other issues as some had expected.“In this increasingly complex global environment, our relationship with China will continue to require careful management,” he said.Wellington has historically taken a more conciliatory approach towards China than Australia or its other Five Eyes security partners, Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom."Common interests and concerns do not mean we will always take the same approach. Sometimes there is tactical strength in a diversity of approaches to achieve the same outcomes," he said.Wang Xiaolong, China’s ambassador to New Zealand said in a speech that China and New Zealand relations were healthy, stable and thriving.“It is no surprise that there are differences between our two countries, given the difference in our respective circumstances. There is no inevitability though, that our countries with differing social systems and levels of development cannot coexist peacefully,” he said in a speech that followed Hipkins' at the summit.With inputs from agencies