WELLINGTON - The efforts by several countries to interfere in New Zealand's democracy, economy, and civil society are "very persistent", according to the New Zealand Security Intelligence Service's (NZSIS) annual report.

The report stated that it had discovered "increasingly aggressive activity" from individuals associated with a "small number of foreign states," which it did not name.

"These individuals pose an enduring threat to New Zealand's national security," the agency said in its report, which was released this week and covers the fiscal year ending June 2022.

During that time, NZSIS claimed to have investigated New Zealand-based individuals who were cultivating locals for intelligence purposes, gathering intelligence against the government, targeting New Zealanders with access to sensitive information, and interfering in the country's politics, private sector, and civil society.

"For some states, these activities are enduring and persistent," it said, adding that increased awareness of the issue had made it more difficult for countries to conduct interference activity.

In recent years, New Zealand has condemned China for its participation in a global hacking spree in 2021 and Russia for its malicious cyber activity against Ukraine in 2022.

According to the NZSIS report, New Zealand cannot take regional Pacific security for granted because it has evolved into an important arena of geopolitical competition.

In the Five Eyes intelligence-sharing alliance with the United States, Britain, Australia, and Canada, New Zealand has long been seen as the moderate, if not absent, voice of China.

However, New Zealand's stance on security and China's growing presence in the South Pacific have hardened in the past year, following the signing of a security treaty between China and the Solomon Islands.