Alexander Gillespie

Opinion | Diplomacy or appeasement? New Zealand’s China policy risks undermining its commitments to human rights, democracy

New Zealand has steered away from war games designed to demonstrate collective opposition to China, preferring instead to quietly grumble about democracy in Hong Kong, the law of the sea and Xinjiang

There is merit in trying to be an honest broker, but there needs to be some evidence of success. New Zealand can either act as a genuine intermediary on what a new world order might look like – or it can make a stand

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New Zealand has steered away from war games designed to demonstrate collective opposition to China, preferring instead to quietly grumble about democracy in Hong Kong, the law of the sea and Xinjiang. Photo: Shutterstock

Alexander Gillespie

Published: 6:00am, 20 Apr 2021Updated: 7:50am, 20 Apr 2021

Very recently in the Bay of Bengal a naval exercise took place involving India, France, Japan and Australia. While it received little or no coverage in New Zealand, it nonetheless represented a foreign policy challenge as serious as any other the country currently faces.

The exercise was an extension of what is known as the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, or “Quad” for short. At the core of this relatively recent security grouping are the four major Indo-Pacific democracies: the United States, India, Japan and Australia.

The Quad group can also expand to include others. France was participating in the Indian exercise as part of a “Quad-plus” agreement – emblematic of emerging political alliances forming in response to perceived Chinese influence and belligerence in the region.

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According to its joint statement, the Quad group is primarily committed to “promoting a free, open rules-based order, rooted in international law to advance security and prosperity and counter threats to both in the Indo-Pacific and beyond”. “We support the rule of law, freedom of navigation and overflight, peaceful resolution of disputes, democratic values, and territorial integrity,” it said.

Within the group there also deepening strategic bonds, including between Australia and Japan, and Australia and India.

Given New Zealand’s strategic and economic relationships with China, one might expect this to be more widely discussed and debated. In fact, New Zealand has largely been missing from the picture when it comes to this major geopolitical shift. At some point, this will have to change.

CONFRONTING CHINA