The country's bolstering its National Security Strategy by jumping on board a new partnership. 

New Zealand and the ‌US will jointly fund a major port upgrade on the island of Penrhyn in the Cooks – a former military base. 

China had previously expressed interest in seabed mining in the area. 

Retired Major General John G. Howard told Mike Hosking we likely didn't spend as much on foreign investment in the past, but it's where we need to spend in order to build our national security resilience.  

He says we'll never be able to compete with superpowers, but the port upgrade is not a material figure against our GDP, and the effect will outweigh competition and build that resilience.  

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