Defence shopping list reflects a resources-hungry world
Remember when Helen Clark said New Zealand existed in a ‘‘benign strategic environment’’?
A lot has changed since 2001.
The Government released the long-awaited Defence White Paper this week, and it comes with a renewed focus on New Zealand’s own back yard.
It’s not quite the shopping list of advanced warfare gadgets the Australian one was, and for that we should be thankful.
Thankful for a few reasons; things may be less benign than they were 15 years ago, but we’re not in the same position as Australia when it comes to protecting our borders. Nor have we (so far) engaged in openly aggressive discussions with any of our neighbours.
And while there is a considerable lack of detail about what we get for that colossal $20 billion budget, the Australian government, by comparison, is already embroiled in controversy over the quality of billion-dollar submarine deals.
As a result, one would hope that our procurement process will be under far more scrutiny. It’s not quite the shopping list of advanced warfare gadgets the Australian one was, and for that we should be thankful.
Despite its lack of technical detail, however, the White Paper provides some interesting insights into perceived threats.
Where the 2010 White Paper was panned as a failure to protect our exclusive economic zone, the latest version focuses New Zealand’s strategic interests squarely on protecting the four million square kilometres of the surrounding waters.
It’s about illegal encroachment into our fisheries – a serious economic threat, more than any perceived military threat. However, in the case of the South China Sea, it’s clear the two are intertwined.
Like any public-record document, Defence White Papers usually aren’t critical of other countries.
What was perhaps more telling was Prime Minister John Key’s diplomatic line of ‘‘not choosing a side’’, compared with Defence Minister Gerry Brownlee’s bullish military-man persona at the press conference to launch the White Paper, playing up the case for ‘‘freedom of navigation’’ through the contested shipping route.
Choosing a side between China and the US may be exactly where China is hoping to nudge us.
Finally, the White Paper made much of the need for capability to protect New Zealand’s interests in the Southern Ocean and Antarctica.
The number of national camps on the icy continent is increasing, and ‘‘while scientific research is a key focus for most countries, the motivations of others may be less clear’’.
Intrinsic to exercising clout in that region is our ability to carry out meaningful scientific work and logistics support. Hence the need for a new ice-strengthened Offshore Patrol Vessel and an upgrade to the ageing Air Force Hercules and 757s. So benign? Not any more. As resources come under strain, the world is already turning its gaze southward – upgrading New Zealand’s strategic environment to ‘‘challenged’’.