New Zealand PM says Pacific region less secure amid China's rise

New Zealand prime minister Chris Hipkins has said that the Pacific region is becoming "more contested, less predictable, and less secure" as China becomes more assertive. Hipkins said it was important that New Zealand continues to engage with China to listen and to build dialogue. "Our region is becoming more contested, less predictable, and less secure," Hipkins said in a speech to the China Business Summit on Monday. "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. "China's rise and how it seeks…