Live firing in the Tasman

A recent letter to 'The Press' (New Zealand) stated: 'We should treat China as a valued friend'. The writer drew a false equivalence between the Chinese navy's lingering presence in the Tasman and Anzac warships transiting through the Taiwan Strait. Firstly the Strait is an international waterway traversed by around 250 ships per day, according to Lloyds. Something I suggest one could not say about the Tasman Sea. Nor have I seen any reports of our warships conducting live firing during their Taiwan Strait passage. Realistically, the Chinese are firstly, showing military muscle as a backdrop to their agreement with the Cook Islands and secondly emphasizing that a New Zealand presence in AUKUS, would not go uncontested. I expect that China's new-found buddy in the Cooks will not survive the next election. Cook Islanders' rights under the free association arrangement are too valuable to give up.

The Chinese Navy maintains a continuous threatening presence in the strait totally at odds with the 'right of innocent passage' envisaged for international waterways.