As New Zealand looks to give the bulk of an extra $NZ700 million in foreign aid to its Pacific neighbours, its top politicians are refusing to say if it has anything to do with China's growing influence in the region.
Foreign Affairs Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters announced on Tuesday a $NZ714m ($AUS667m) increase in foreign aid spending over four years, saying most of it would go to Pacific nations.
New Zealand's entire aid budget for 2017 was $NZ613m.
During the announcement Mr Peters argued helping the Pacific would ultimately make New Zealand safer and more prosperous - but also spoke of a build-up of influences in the region and a potential power vacuum.
"Put simply: If we're not there, some other influence will be," he said.
It mirrored a speech in March in which he said Australia and New Zealand needed to boost their aid to, and "reset" their relationship with, Pacific nations to remain relevant as countries with deeper pockets moved in.
But while China's growing power in the Pacific has caused concern among some Western powers, Mr Peters in neither speech mentioned the world's second-largest economy.
And on Wednesday, neither he nor Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern would name China.
"There are other countries doing things which we don't approve of. Fullstop. You want me to name them all? No I'm not, because we're in the business of diplomacy," Mr Peters told reporters.
The funding was about addressing a lack of spending by the previous government and boosting New Zealand's influence, he said.
And while saying there were "other actors in the Pacific too", when asked why she wouldn't mention China by name, Ms Ardern replied: "This is about us."
"It's about making sure we play our role. We are the Pacific," she said.
The prime minister said she was planning to make her first trip to China before the end of the year, saying the relationship was a highly valued one.
New Zealand in 2008 became the first developed nation to sign a free-trade deal with China and the countries share an extensive trade relationship, particularly for New Zealand's key dairy industry.
Last week, French President Emmanuel Macron and Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull warned China to respect a rules-based order in the South Pacific.
