New Zealand to boost defense amid China tensions

New Zealand has said that it needs to bolster its defense capabilities in the face of aging equipment, difficulties recruiting personnel and an intense strategic competition between China and the West.

The government on Friday presented its first national security strategy and the first stage of a defense review. 

New Zealand’s defense force “is not in a fit state to respond to future challenges,” the policy review presented by Prime Minister Chris Hipkins and Defence Minister Andrew…