What’s New Zealand’s plan as superpower rivalry escalates in the Pacific?

Wellington’s muted response to the recent Pacific tour of Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi stood in stark contrast to Australia’s flurry of diplomacy

Analysts say New Zealand seeks a more nuanced foreign policy, but cracks are appearing in its ‘strategic ambiguity’ towards China amid alignment with the West

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New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern reacts during a joint press conference with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. Photo: AP

Published: 8:15am, 12 Jun 2022

New Zealand’s muted response to Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi’s recent Pacific tour – as compared to neighbouring Australia’s more robust reaction – reveals the duality of Wellington’s attempts to maintain “strategic ambiguity” towards Beijing while aligning with the West, analysts said.

As Wang travelled to eight Pacific nations to drum up support for a wide-ranging security cooperation agreement last month, Canberra dispatched new Foreign Minister Penny Wong on a mission to recover Australia’s status as the region’s “partner of choice”. During her trip, Wong announced an eight-year partnership with Samoa on human development and fresh cooperation with Tonga on climate change, economic development and regional security.

By contrast, New Zealand’s Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta said earlier this month that there was no need to react to Chinese activity in the Pacific “in a way that makes us look desperate”, adding that her country is “not defined by China”.

New Zealand’s Foreign Affairs Minister Nanaia Mahuta dismissed concerns about China’s flurry of diplomatic activity in the Pacific. Photo: Mark Mitchell/New Zealand Herald

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern did share her concerns about China’s bid to expand its influence in the Pacific during a meeting with US President Joe Biden in Washington last month, however. A joint statement after their meeting expressed concern about a recent security agreement between China and the Solomon Islands.

One reason Wellington has tried to avoid Australia’s more antagonistic approach is the close trading relationship New Zealand has with China, said Marc Lanteigne, an associate professor at the University of Tromsø in Norway.

Since the two sides signed a free-trade agreement in 2008, New Zealand’s exports to China have quadrupled and bilateral trade stood at NZ$33 billion (US$21.2 billion) in 2019.

But New Zealand cannot be complacent about its standing in the Pacific amid the recent high-level Chinese and Australian visits, said Wellington-based international-relations consultant Karim Dickie.

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