Overview

• The FBI’s standalone Wellington office, inaugurated by Director Kash Patel on July 31, now oversees operations and partnerships across New Zealand, Antarctica, Samoa, Niue, the Cook Islands and Tonga.
• New Zealand Defence Minister Judith Collins and Police Minister Mark Mitchell said the new office will boost public safety by targeting cyber intrusions, narcotics trafficking, organised crime and child exploitation.
• Patel described the upgrade as a key step to counter Chinese Communist Party influence in the Indo-Pacific and deepen intelligence-sharing within the Five Eyes alliance.
• The Chinese embassy in Wellington condemned the move as “groundless vilification,” while Foreign Minister Winston Peters reiterated that the office’s mandate centres on transnational crime.
• The opening completes New Zealand’s integration into the Five Eyes network as the last partner to host a permanent FBI station, reflecting Washington’s broader Indo-Pacific security strategy.