Defence diplomacy – why it matters for New Zealand and for You
New Zealand is a country with many perspectives: we are a Pacific nation, a maritime nation, and a trading nation. Our people and our perspectives form the basis of our national identity, and frame the way we think about defence, diplomacy and security.
First and foremost, we are a Pacific nation and naturally focus on the Asia-Pacific as our neighbourhood region, but our interests are truly global. This thinking expresses itself through the community, nation, and world framework that guides our defence engagement, and as part of our party policy, is articulated in the Strategic Defence Policy Statement, which as the Minister of Defence, I launched in 2018.
The Statement acknowledges that New Zealand is navigating an increasingly complex and dynamic international security environment. We are already seeing compounding challenges of a scope and magnitude not previously seen in our neighbourhood.
My views as a list member of Parliament are that as a small nation reliant on maritime trade, the security of maritime trading lanes and open lines of communication is fundamental to our national security. We all depend on open sea, air and electronic lines of communication. And we could be severely impacted by disruptions associated with state conflict, serious criminal activity, or natural disasters.
Consider for a moment the impact in the Wairarapa on sheep and beef farmers, vineyards, wool and tourism industries, if they did not have the ability to export or import around the world. How serious would the impacts be if rural and urban businesses did not have secure or consistent electronic communication channels, or indeed if there were not a set of internationally agreed and enforced set of rules that gave order, certainty, consistency and security to the environment that travellers, traders and workers operated within?
In this context defence diplomacy matters. Defence and security cooperation are core components of New Zealand’s international relationships. Our defence relationships facilitate dialogue, coordination and practical co-operation with our partners. They amplify our international influence, extend our reach and provide us with channels through which we pursue New Zealand’s interests.
We’re focused on listening to and understanding the security priorities of our partners. We strive to be responsive. And we seek to build approaches together based on recognised strengths. Our longstanding and deep engagement in the Pacific is maintained and facilitated by our Defence Attaches and presence in the region. Over the course of this term New Zealand Defence has launched a new Pacific Leader Development Programme with Fiji, Tonga, Papua New Guinea and Vanuatu, a Pacific Defence Gender Network to promote gender equality across Pacific defence and security sectors, and a new Fiji-New Zealand Defence Partnership Programme. We also co-hosted, with Samoa, a Women, Peace and Security Summit in Apia in August 2019.
New Zealand, together with Pacific Leaders, identified climate change as the single greatest threat to the livelihood, security and well-being of Pacific people. More than ever, the Defence Force will be required to play a role in efforts to curb the impacts of climate change.
Since our early trans-Tasman military cooperation in WWI and the ANZAC experience at Gallipoli, defence connectivity with Australia has been a cornerstone of New Zealand’s security. Today, we remain firmly committed to supporting each other’s security, and closely coordinating operational efforts, especially in the Pacific. The recent Australian bush fires and our deployment to assist them is an example of this.
New Zealand Defence makes an important contribution to international efforts to ensure freedom of navigation and open lines of communication. This includes maritime surveillance and patrol activities in the Pacific and South East Asia, as well as our participation in multinational counter-piracy operations in the Arabian Gulf and Indian Ocean.
Looking ahead it is clear that we will face an increasingly complex international security environment. Developments abroad will have an impact at home on New Zealanders. Building strong defence co-operation and engagement with partners – in the Pacific and further afield - will be integral in responding to these challenges in promoting a safer community, nation and world.