New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters stated that they would start negotiations with Australia on the AUKUS tripartite defense partnership and said that Washington should make more efforts against other political influences in the Pacific. Peters went to Australia for a joint meeting of the Foreign and Defense Ministers of New Zealand and Australia on January 31, 2024. The discussions also discussed what joining AUKUS would mean for Wellington.[1]
What a possible new agreement will cover has not yet been made public. New Zealand has pursued an anti-nuclear policy since the 1980s, and this has damaged its defense relations with the U.S. Stating that the U.S. has neglected the Pacific since the Second World War and that this situation has caused others to fill this gap, Peters used the following statements:[2]
“They have certainly upped their game, but they need to work with greater intensity on the immediate problems at the ground level of many of the island nations.”
Peters, who served as Foreign Minister in the periods of 2005-2008 and 2017-2020, returned to office with the election of a new conservative coalition government in 2023. In 2017, Peters announced that they had launched the “Pacific Reset” program to increase his country’s relations with the small Pacific islands in the region.[3]
Criticizing the previous government for not making concessions on political issues, Peters said, “It is not in our national interest to display a flamboyant isolationist stance in this new environment”. At this point, the possibility of New Zealand joining the AUKUS tripartite defense partnership may indicate a significant change in the country’s security and foreign policy.
Pillar Two, which New Zealand is planned to join in the context of AUKUS, covers a broad area that differs from the first pillar, which focused on nuclear-powered attack submarines. This is because of New Zealand’s longstanding anti-nuclear policy. As a matter of fact, New Zealand left the ANZUS4 partnership in 1986, which they established with the U.S. in 1951.51
New Zealand’s involvement in AUKUS could increase the country’s regional presence, yet it could also conflict with its domestic politics and historical anti-nuclear stance. This situation is a reflection of New Zealand’s need to balance its foreign policy preferences and protect its national interests.
Another important point is the deficiencies in Washington’s Pacific policy. New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters argues that the U.S. did not focus enough on the Pacific after the Second World War. This created a gap in the region that caused other countries to expand their sphere of influence.
This criticism may require the U.S. to make changes in its global priorities. Policy shortcomings in the Pacific could have serious consequences for regional stability and security. Finding solutions to regional problems by collaborating with other actors in the Pacific is critical to ensuring that the U.S. remains a reliable partner in the region.
The ongoing Washington-Beijing rivalry in the region provides an important background at this point. The power struggle in the Pacific involves conflictual dynamics across a range of issues such as security, defence, aid and infrastructure.
It can be said that the regional dimension of the competition in question is at least as important as the global dimension. At this point, especially the U.S. aims to surround China by implementing various security agreements and cooperations with the countries in the region. As a matter of fact, it can be said that New Zealand is an important ally of the West. This causes a cyclical rivalry to emerge between Wellington and Beijing in the Asia-Pacific.
Moreover, the polarization policy followed by the U.S. in the region causes the countries in the region to choose a pole and intensify their competition with the other pole. For all these reasons, the U.S.’s efforts to attract New Zealand can be considered as a move against Beijing.
On the other hand, it can be argued that Wellington intends to get closer to the U.S. due to both the global competition with China and the threat from North Korea. It can be said that the regional geopolitical dynamics of the Asia-Pacific are also pushing the regional states towards the China or U.S. axis. We can say that New Zealand’s “Pacific Reset” policy will negatively affect relations with China. It is thought to be a strategy to strengthen cooperation with the U.S. However, the possibility of New Zealand’s inclusion in the AUKUS tripartite defense partnership also reveals the necessity of keeping its relations with China in balance. Economic ties and regional cooperation with China complicate New Zealand’s balancing act.
[1] “US Needs to Work with Greater Intensity in the Pacific – NZ Foreign Minister”, Reuters, https://www.reuters.com/world/us-needs-work-with-greater-intensity-pacific-nz-min-2024-01-31/, (Access Date: 31.01.2024).
[2] Ibid.
[3] Ibid.
4 “ANZUS Treaty Comes Into Force”, News Zealand History, https://nzhistory.govt.nz/anzus-comes-into-force, (Access Date: 27.01.2024).
5 “U.S. Withdraws New Zealand’s ANZUS Shield”, The Washington Post, https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1986/06/28/us-withdraws-new-zealands-anzus-shield/0985d3b7-dc86-47fd-8831-d3653d4c6327/, (Access Date: 27.01.2024).
