Speaking on the sidelines of a summit of Pacific island leaders in Japan, Winston Peters said the situation in the French Pacific territory had reached an “impasse”.

“In New Caledonia we hope to see more diplomacy, more engagement, more compromise,” he said in the speech in Tokyo.

“The situation has reached an impasse, and one not easily navigated given the violence that broke out, the democratic injuries that have reopened old wounds and created new ones.”

A wave of rioting and looting broke out in New Caledonia in mid-May over a planned expansion of the electoral roll.

The territory’s Indigenous Kanak people feared it would leave them in a permanent minority compared with French from the mainland, putting independence hopes out of reach.

The unrest prompted France to send thousands of troops and police in response.

The electoral change, which requires altering the French constitution, is effectively in limbo since President Emmanuel Macron dissolved parliament for new elections, which this month produced a lower house with no clear majority.

Further unrest was stoked by the arrests of pro-independence figures on June 19.

Last week, French police shot and killed an alleged gunman, local prosecutors said, bringing the toll from the turmoil to 10.

The disruption is “a test of the effectiveness of our regional architecture in dealing with crisis response”, Peters said.

It also presents an opportunity for the Pacific Islands Forum to serve as a “constructive force”, helping parties find a “path forward”, he added.

“Based on our conversations in Tokyo this week, we are confident that the different actors in Noumea and Paris will see any offer of dialogue, engagement or mediation as an opportunity to access the deep wisdom and experience that exists in the Pacific Islands region.”