New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern warns Nato of China’s rising assertiveness

New Zealand has in recent years tried not to antagonise China, its largest trading partner
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern urged for the use of diplomacy and economic links to build ties in the Indo-Pacific region

New Zealand

Bloomberg

Published: 10:09am, 30 Jun 2022

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China’s increasing willingness to challenge international norms must be resisted, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern told the Nato summit.

New Zealand is not a member of Nato, but it is a partner of the Western defence alliance and on occasion New Zealand troops have supported NATO-led operation. In recent months it has contributed to the Nato Trust Fund for operations in Ukraine.

Rising tensions caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine were not limited to Europe, with the Pacific also experiencing “mounting pressure on the international rules-based order,” Ardern said in a speech on Wednesday in Madrid, according to emailed notes. She singled out China, saying it has in recent times “become more assertive and more willing to challenge international rules and norms.”

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“We must respond to the actions we see,” Ardern said. “We must stand firm on the rules-based order, call for diplomatic engagement and speak out against human rights abuses at all times when and where we see them.”

New Zealand has in recent years tried not to antagonise China, its largest trading partner, at times choosing not to co-sign statements from the Five Eyes intelligence-sharing alliance criticising Beijing. But its nuanced position has become increasingly difficult to maintain as China steps up its engagement in the Pacific – it signed a security pact with the Solomon Islands in April, sparking concerns it wants to increase its military presence in the region.

Ardern said New Zealand was not attending the Nato summit “to expand our military alliances.” Rather, “we are here to contribute to a world that lessens the need for anyone to call on them,” she said.

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“We must use diplomacy at every opportunity, until it has proven to fail. We must strengthen the resilience of the Indo-Pacific region through relationships and economic architecture rather than militarisation.”

Ardern condemned Russia’s actions as “an affront to all of us,” but urged Nato not to allow the legacy of the war in Ukraine to become a nuclear arms race.

“This crossroads that the world finds itself at should be the basis for us to put a halt in the production of weapons that create our mutually assured destruction, because the alternative is unfathomable,” she said.

Additional reporting by Reuters