Jacinda Ardern says New Zealand is “ready to respond” to security needs in the Pacific, after it emerged that China is planning a Pacific-wide security deal with nearly a dozen island nations.
The Prime Minister, who is touring the United States, said she believed the Pacific could meet its security needs internally, implying that it should do so without intervention from China or elsewhere. “In anything related to security agreements, we are firmly in the view that we have the means and capacity in the Pacific to respond to any security challenges that exist and New Zealand is willing to do so,” Ardern said. .
“It is not up to us to speak on behalf of other Pacific nations, but what I can say is that when there is such a need, New Zealand is ready to respond,” he said.
“The Pacific is our home. We consider the Pacific our family, and where these needs exist, we are prepared and willing to respond to that call. “
Australia’s new Foreign Minister Penny Wong will travel to Fiji on Thursday as a first sign of her determination to deepen relations with the Pacific countries.
New Zealand Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta currently has no equivalent trip booked, although Mahuta has held long-distance meetings with Pacific Island countries and visited Fiji earlier this year.
The latest regional security agreement proposed by China is not at all secure. Sources told the Guardian that the regional security deal proposed by China had not been well received by all Pacific leaders. But pressure is mounting on major Pacific players, especially Australia and New Zealand, to strengthen their relations and partnerships in the region. In early May, Mahuta told the Guardian that a shock security pact between China and the Solomon Islands was proof of a “failure of the relationship” and had taken both Australia and New Zealand by surprise.
New Zealand Opposition Foreign Minister Gerry Brownlee said the news of the deal “raises the question: has our Foreign Ministry and its missions in the Pacific gone blind again?” ” In a morning radio appearance, Brownlee asked: “How come they had no idea why there was a visit to 10 countries by the Chinese Foreign Minister with a party of 20 more, and they have an idea of their contacts in the Pacific what? Was this all about? “
He said that the fact that China has been able to “capitalize” on the desire for development in the region “returns a lot to countries like New Zealand, Australia and the United States to get more involved.”
Ardern was speaking to reporters after a meeting with senators and representatives in Washington DC. He said they had discussed “regional issues, China’s role in our region, the United States’ commitment to China.” Asked specifically about the new Pacific agreements drafted by China, Ardern said: “I see that China is trying to increase its commitment to sovereign nations, but it is expanding into a space where there is a real need for security agreements. we can meet in our region. ”
New Zealand’s foreign policy strategy under Ardern and Mahuta has been to stress that multilateral responses, primarily the Pacific Islands Forum, should be the first escalation point for any security discussion. “China is trying to attract a wide range of Pacific members,” Ardern said. “From a New Zealand perspective, we see that it is incredibly important that the response to this and these discussions also come from the Pacific.
“The Pacific Islands Forum Leaders’ Meeting will be incredibly important as an opportunity for the Pacific to write its vision on this growing presence and China’s actions to increase its role in the Pacific.”
On Wednesday, Mahuta met with his Solomon Islands counterpart and announced that New Zealand would renew its defense deployment in the country.
“New Zealand will continue to work collaboratively to address the profound challenges facing our region,” he said. “Our region faces a number of complex security challenges, including climate change and increasing economic vulnerability as a result of Covid-19. Addressing these challenges requires sustained investment in the breadth of development priorities of our region “.
Mahuta was not immediately available to comment on the most recent proposed agreements between China and the Pacific.