The Australian Foreign Editor Greg Sheridan says New Zealand is “going back to reality” after the “long, bad dream of Jacinta Ardern” following the country publicly announcing China was behind a cyberattack.
New Zealand is the latest country to confirm it has fallen victim to a Chinese statesponsored cyberattack.
“It’s a fascinating story … it seems that there was a cyber intrusion a couple of years ago, which the New Zealanders have only just now attributed to China,” Mr Sheridan told Sky News Australia.
“It takes quite a long time to get to a point where you’re confident in your attribution, and you’ve got to check it with your allies and so forth.
“Now, I think they knew about it when Wong Yi [the Chinese Foreign Minister] was in New Zealand but chose not to raise it with him – that’s a sign of weakness.
“The fact that they’re speaking out at all and naming China publicly – that’s a sign of growing strength in New Zealand and a little bit of strategic reorientation.
“They’re going back to reality after the long, bad dream of Jacinta Ardern.”