Foreign policy group voices alarm at New Zealand's role in militarising the Pacific

Amongst an intense reaction to China’s naval exercises in the Tasman sea and recent agreements with Cook Islands, a foreign policy group has criticised the New Zealand government’s signalled increase of defence spending towards 2% of GDP, calling it “loud but not smart” and a “classic case of empty vessels making the most noise”. 

This comes as declassified documents from the latest ANZMIN Australia and New Zealand foreign and defence ministerial meeting describe deterrence as “an increasingly important element of New Zealand's national security and defence policy settings”, suggesting the increased budget will be spent on warfighting capabilities. 

“China’s intentions in the region are unknown and a maritime presence may be uncomfortable for the government, but it cannot be met militarily”, says Dylan Asafo, a senior lecturer at the University of Auckland. “If the government was serious about regional security and New Zealand’s influence in the Pacific, they would invest in development and diplomacy. Pacific nations are clear that climate change is the principal security threat, and yet Winston Peters is talking tough and reassessing the aid budget, weakening New Zealand’s relationships in the process.”     

“Through increasing involvement in military pacts–such as NATO’s Indo-Pacific Four, Operation Olympic Defender, the Partnership for Indo-Pacific Industrial Resilience (PIPIR) and potentially AUKUS Pillar Two–our government is taking sides in a superpower rivalry that is militarising the Pacific and exacerbating regional crises," says Marco de Jong, a lecturer at Auckland University of Technology. “But Trump is showing that the United States is unreliable. An independent foreign policy is more important now than ever.”    

“This is wasteful spending that will only benefit the military industrial complex and doubles as a threat to our largest trading partner”, says de Jong. “We should be buying ferries not frigates. Our budget priorities must reflect urgent national issues, foremost of which is the cost of living crisis.”

“New Zealand has an opportunity here to deescalate regional tensions, prioritise our existing relationships in the Pacific, and reestablish multilateral commitments that make small nations safe,” says Asafo. “We must recentre the environment, human rights, and global peace and stability in our foreign policy, rather than fighting other people’s wars.”