WELLINGTON (Reuters) -The FBI has opened a standalone office in New Zealand’s capital in part to improve the United States and New Zealand’s ability to counter China’s presence in the Pacific region, FBI Director Kash Patel said on Thursday.

Patel said in a statement that opening a dedicated law enforcement attache office in Wellington would strengthen and enhance Washington’s longstanding co-operation with one of its key partners in the southwestern Pacific.

“Some of the most important global issues of our times are the ones that New Zealand and America work on together – countering the CCP (the Communist Party of China) in the Indo PACOM theatre, countering the narcotics trade, working together against cyber intrusions and ransomware operations and most importantly protecting our respective citizenry,” he added in a video released by the U.S. Embassy in Wellington.

The FBI has had a suboffice in New Zealand since 2017 and the two countries work closely on policing issues including child exploitation and organised crime.

New Zealand and the U.S. have been working more closely together amid concerns about China’s increasing influence in the Pacific. They are both members of the intelligence sharing partnership known as the Five Eyes, which also includes Australia, Canada and the UK.

New Zealand Defence Minister Judith Collins and Police Minister Mark Mitchell said in a statement that they welcomed the new FBI office, which they said would enhance the safety and security of New Zealanders.

Patel visited New Zealand to open the office and the U.S. Embassy statement said he also visited key government ministers.

(Reporting by Lucy Craymer; Editing by Kate Mayberry)