New Zealand’s involvement in the Five Power Defence Arrangement is not well known, but it’s now getting us in a lot of trouble.
The other parties in the arrangement are Britain, Australia and two rather authoritarian one-party states, Malaysia and Singapore.
The most visible expression of the FPDA is its joint military exercises, usually held in or around Malaysia or Singapore. It is these exercises that are getting us in to bother with our main trading partner, China.
Last month China’s state news agency Xinhua found it “baffling” that New Zealand was participating in the FPDA Bersama Shield exercise in the South China Sea at the same time as John Key was visiting Beijing and said it “raises suspicions”. These suspicions would have been heightened by Malaysia’s hosting of the exercise when Malaysia and China are contesting ownership of some of the Spratly islands in the South China Sea.
In this context, China wouldn’t have been too enamored with our government stating that it was participating in the exercise because “our ability to operate alongside FDPA partner nations is critical to successfully providing security in the South East Asian region.”
China may also not have been happy when an RNZAF Orion travelled on from the Bersama Shield exercise to the Philippines for “joint engagement activities with the Philippine Air Force.” The Philippines is also claiming some of the Spratly Islands.
If there is one thing shared by New Zealand’s four FPDA partners (Britain, Australia, Singapore and Malaysia) it is close military ties with the United States, China’s main adversary in the South China Sea.
The Xinhua editorial was critical of comments New Zealand had made on the South China Sea dispute and warned it not to be “hijacked by the ambitions of its military allies.” Xinhua hinted there could be economic penalties for taking sides against China. “Key should be reminded that New Zealand is an absolute outsider in the dispute and not a concerned party, and that any attempt by Wellington to break its promise not to take sides on the issue would risk complicating the flourishing trade ties between China and New Zealand.”
What should our response be? Of course, we should be concerned about the tensions caused by the multiple sovereignty claims on islands in the South China Sea. But the region doesn’t need nations like New Zealand taking sides. We are best placed to be neutral, and offer ourselves as mediators if and when that would help.
The danger of nations using military forces as bargaining chips was reinforced last week when the Pentagon accused two Chinese jets of an “unsafe” interception of an American spy plane flying over a Chinese installation in the South China Sea. Given that the dispute over the islands cannot be solved militarily it is hard to see any useful purpose to US Navy patrols in the area. It only leads to more tension, and greater Chinese hostility to anyone lining up behind the Americans, including our FPDA partners and maybe New Zealand.
The military standoff in the South China Sea gives some urgency to New Zealand’s withdrawal from the Five Power Defence Arrangement. The FPDA originated in the Cold War is well out-dated. It complicates our relations with China. And in any case we shouldn’t be in such a close military relationship with the governments of Singapore and Malaysia that have oppressive restrictions on freedom of speech and assembly.
We should not have anything to do with military alliances. If we haven’t learned the lessons of history, we really are suckers for punishment.
+1
We should be declaring ourselves totally neutral. To me that means pulling out of FTAs as well because they themselves have become an act of war.
alliances have kept us safer, history shows that, anyone who argues otherwise is a fool.
Yep, World War 1 and Vietnam were great examples of keeping Kiwis safe. Sarc.
No Dave, it was alliances that created a domino effect that led to WW1. Read your history. The only one being a fool is the one who hasn’t learnt history’s lessons.
Agreements just give us more of a say in political outcomes. If we didn’t have good relations with our Asian and pacific neighbours then we get kicked to the back of the line in providing assistance.
Most if not all our trade, air travel and communications goes through Asia. So it is in our best interest to have good relations with them.
if you believe your own rhetoric than your another brainwashed slave that knows bugger all about international affairs
I’m just as concerned we are forced to suck up to China as much as we are forced to suck up to the US and pretty much anyone else who wants to buy property here or some bottled water plants or our politicians feel we are important to play golf with.
Trade deals should be about trade. These days they are more about power relations and loss of sovereignty and ethics.
We once told the US to f off over nuclear free, maybe it is about time we had a politician who had that sort of attitude. Did not do us any harm, in fact NZ became more respected.
We need to worry with the Don on his way. Maybe we will have to build a wall to to keep out Mexicans and Palestinians while selling our assets to China really cheap to keep everyone happy (apart from Kiwi locals, but who cares about the public when you are a politician on the global neoliberal gravy train?) sarc.
Our government also loves to grovel to Australia too… from no right turn…
Australia lets kiwi detainees literally rot
What are our “closest friends” Australia doing to kiwis awaiting deportation? Letting them literally rot away in prison due to substandard medical care:
A New Zealander held at an Australian immigration detention centre will find out today if his leg has to be amputated, he says.
The Type-2 diabetic blames substandard medical care in the Sydney lock-up of Villawood for his plight.
A human rights lawyer is calling on the New Zealand government to step in.
How did he get this way? He was denied basic medical care for months, turning a trivial injury into a life-threatening one. And now he may lose his leg due to Australia’s policy of wilful neglect towards those in its gulags.
Worse, the New Zealand government just sat idly by and let this happen. Despite John Key’s assurances that the government is taking a close interest, our people in Australia don’t get consular assistance or even communications. They’re just abandoned. Wouldn’t it be nice to have a government which stood up to Australia, rather than crawling to them?
Throughout its entire history the species Homo sapiens has been a one of the most violent of all species.
To imagine that 200,000 years of genetic programming has been altered by the possession of digital devices and the temporary abundance of cheap food is to be deluded.
The moment resources become seriously scarce -and that will definitely occur within 5 years- humans will revert to tribalism and do whatever is necessary, including killing other humans- to obtain sustenance.
Against the backdrop of ever-diminishing resources and ever-worsening climate chaos the last gasps of the dying American Empire will not be at all pleasant, whichever side of the NZ decides to sit.
Hmmm… do we really need ’em ?… them and their posturing…
Both the USA and China…
Isolationism is a good thing maybe…neutrality even better… do we really need them?
We can trade, we can kick John Key and the National party out of power… but do we really need them?
Both seem eager to trade… why not make em pay for the privilege… both seem eager to want influence here… why not make them pay ? We don’t need their hassles or their influence…
Yes… make them pay for their own folly … lets just trade and grow prosperous instead.
Play them off … and give the heave ho to Key and his inner core of neo liberal fanatics.
We don’t need any of them.
No power games, no mind fucks.
Let us trade and grow rich instead.
Those need to be addressed at the UN. Doubt if China would like that though as once you look at the geography it becomes obvious that they don’t have any claim to them.
China has been acting more and more like an empire recently.
China has no respect for free speech or assembly – much less than either Malaysia or Singapore.
Also don’t you love that this Green idiot voted against the China FTA and yet now advocating that NZ become the lackey of China?
Green idiocy at its finest
Thanks Keith – totally agree with you.
Nope – we do not need them. We do not need alliances with the UN nor NATO as well.
Wars are perpetuated by these militaristic terrorist type idiots who believe that these kind of alliances make the world safer. Wrong. They encourage perpetual wars and lie to the people about why we are involved — example : Viet Nam and WW1 and WW2 etc. Viet Nam is overwhelming known now to be a massive mistake.
Instead — let’s grow our independence and energy self sufficiency and our economic strength and not allow the U.S. to bring in their nuclear ships into our harbours nor even consider some 5 power defense agreement.
Donkey Jonkey – get out of the lap of war mongering militaristic countries. Make us safer not more war like.
We are a small country and should not be involved with any defence arrangement with nations that have 3 times our population!!!
So get us out of it Labour!
‘All of Europe, both western, eastern and southern, the British Pacific such as Australia and New Zealand, Japan and other parts of Asia are vassal states of Washington’s Empire. None of these allegedly “sovereign” countries have an independent voice or an independent foreign or economic policy.’
http://www.paulcraigroberts.org/2016/05/23/americans-a-conquered-people-the-new-serfs-paul-craig-roberts/
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