Love, not money, is key: Mark

Defence Minister Ron Mark is happy to put New Zealand Defence personnel and their people skills up against the big bucks of China in terms of winning favour with Pacific Island nations.

New Zealand’s recent treatment of the Pacific region — Mark described it as “paternalistic” and “condescending” — has been partly blamed for creating space for China to move in.

“It’s fair to say we dropped the ball and we lost sight of what’s really important,” Mark told reporters yesterday. “People-to-people relationships, and a genuine desire, genuine affection, genuine love for those people we engage with.”

Asked how people skills compared to money from China in the Pacific, Mark said: “If you’re asking me if I put money ahead of people, the answer is ‘ no’.”

China has poured billions into the Pacific in recent years, mostly for infrastructure projects and through concessional loans.

New Zealand also supports Pacific infrastructure, though not with the same financial heft, and is also pursuing soft diplomacy such as training and people-to-people relationships.

Part of that diplomacy will be Defence-run leadership programmes in Vanuatu, Papua New Guinea, Fiji and Tonga, each tailored to those countries’ needs.

Mark announced the programmes yesterday while launching the Advancing Pacific Partnerships 2019 paper. The paper outlines how the Defence Force and the Ministry of Defence will seek to build long-term relationships with Pacific peoples.