Hon Phil Goff
Minister of Defence

3 June 2007

Speech Notes

Security Cooperation in Asia: Managing Alliances and Partnerships
Speech to the 6th Institute of International Strategic Studies Asia Security Summit

The security needs of the twenty-first century are qualitatively different from those of a generation ago.

Traditional inter-state conflict has increasingly taken second place to conflict within states. And unlike the Cold War, where conflicting parties were often proxies for ideological battles between great powers, today by and large outsiders cannot be blamed for the violence.

And while the Asia Pacific region is less affected by such conflicts than other parts of the world, one test of regional institutions is the ability to respond to such situations.

Internal conflicts occurring where state institutions and national cohesion are weak require new international responses.

Collectively we need to find solutions to instability which arises out of the inadequacy of local social and political institutions.

The prevalence of, and increase in situations of this nature is reflected in the growing demand for UN peacekeeping operations.

Deployments reached an historic high at the end of October 2000 with nearly 81,000 military and police personnel and some 15,000 civilians serving in 18 peacekeeping operations around the world.

There will be a real challenge in finding countries prepared to contribute to meeting this demand.

However, I believe there are two key reasons why we must collectively endeavour to meet these needs.

The first is the acceptance by the United Nations of the responsibility to protect. This acknowledges our shared responsibility to act in response to humanitarian crises which threaten human survival and well-being.

The world is hopefully less willing today to stand back and do nothing in the face of tragedies like Rwanda and Bosnia where thousands were murdered in cold blood.

The second reason is our shared self-interest in dealing with threats to local security and stability which have consequences for our own and wider regional well-being.

Failed states can become havens for terrorists and criminals. The Taliban’s hosting of Al Qaeda in Afghanistan, leading to 9/11, was a dramatic example of this.

In the first instance, a military intervention may be necessary to control and stabilise a situation which poses a threat. But for the solution to be sustainable we need more wide ranging interventions to deal with the causes of state failure.

We are talking not only about military action but also nation building and initiatives to build state capacity.

Stability and development are mutually dependent. Soldiers and police officers may be necessary to restore order. But much more needs to be done to address underlying causes of instability such as poverty, underdevelopment, economic crisis, weak or corrupt central government and ethnic, tribal and religious conflict.

The challenge may, for example, be about replacing tribal loyalties with loyalty to a nation or inculcating conventions that groups do not take by force what they are unable to achieve through the ballot box.

In my comments today, I would like to draw on New Zealand’s experience and involvement in recent peacekeeping missions to assess how these challenges might be met.

The focus of much of New Zealand’s activities has been in the South Pacific. It is here that we have close family, cultural and political links and where we as a small nation are most capable of making a difference.

The South Pacific, perhaps contrary to its picture post-card image, is also an area with severe social and political problems, and limited means to resolve them.

Problems include communal tensions, political instability, weak governance, fragile economies, rapid population growth that places pressure on limited resources, land tenure problems and transnational crime.

In Bougainville in Papua New Guinea, New Zealand and Australia were invited by both sides in the conflict to intervene to help end 10 years of civil war which had claimed as many as 10,000 lives.

The intervention was desired by both sides involved and we were able to create an environment for the conflicting parties to talk to each other and for confidence building. The fact that the peacekeeping force agreed upon was unarmed and was broadened to include other Pacific countries also contributed to a successful outcome.

Nine years later, the peace continues to hold though many economic and social problems remain to be resolved.
Autonomy for Bougainville, which was central to the peace agreement, created expectations but not the necessarily the means to meet them.

In the Solomon Islands, the Government sought assistance from Australia and New Zealand when lawlessness and ethnic conflict threatened to engulf the state. Both of our countries were reluctant to become involved, but realised options less than an armed military and police intervention would not succeed.

The decision to intervene was multilateralised through the participation of Pacific Islands Forum countries.

The authorisation for intervention came from both the Solomon Islands Government and unanimously from its parliament.

The intervention was multifaceted, involving comprehensive development and institution building tasks as well as conventional security and law and order.

In Timor Leste, New Zealand deployed Defence Force personnel with Australia in September 1999. The deployment was first part of a regional mission, Interfet, before being subsumed into Untaet when the United Nations took over the task of providing security and capacity building for the transition to independence.

We stationed a battalion in Timor Leste for three years. We provided assistance in the establishment of the new Timor Leste Defence Force. We also contributed police, customs and corrections officers to assist with capacity building. By independence in 2002, we along with other contributors from the international community and the UN felt we had done a good job.

But both in the Solomon Islands and Timor Leste, the initial and successful efforts to establish stability and economic and social progress have not yet resulted in permanent and sustainable change.

In the Solomon Islands, after a successful election, the faction which did not initially succeed in choosing the Prime Minister and Cabinet instigated a riot that saw much of the commercial area of the capital destroyed.

Two MPs charged with, and imprisoned for causing the riot were initially appointed to ministerial posts, including one as Minister of Police.

The issue of sovereignty has also arisen. Those in power, for good and bad reasons, have pushed back against their authority being constrained by the Regional Assistance Mission.

The Solomon Islands public, however, remained in contrast very supportive of the mission. RAMSI and the Government now face the challenge of trying to find a middle ground to enable on going cooperation.

In Timor Leste, in April last year, divisions and conflict between regions, within and between security forces and between political parties saw a renewed outbreak of violence, forcing thousands to flee to IDP camps.

The beleaguered government invited forces from Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia and Portugal to intervene to restore law and order and stability, which has happened.

In parallel, the United Nations has responded to the breakdown of authority in Timor Leste by a new mission – Unmit – to address policing, justice, good governance, institutional capacity building and economic development issues.

Presidential elections have been held and the campaign for parliamentary elections at the end of June is currently underway. The situation at present is relatively stable but fragile. International police and defence support as well as the UN capacity building remains essential to prevent widespread violence and to preserve security.

The international intervention in Afghanistan after 9/11 is well known to all. The removal of the Taliban has not yet brought final resolution to the problems there.

After 25 years of conflict, integrating diverse elements back into a nation state, creating a new framework to give a mandate to a central government and assisting that government to extend its authority to the provinces remains a challenge.

The country needs an effective national army and police force to achieve security, a functioning economy and infrastructure to improve living conditions and the delivery of health and education services.

Since 2003, New Zealand has operated a Provincial Reconstruction Team in Bamyan in central Afghanistan, first under Operation Enduring Freedom and now under the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force.

The Provincial Reconstruction Team has helped provide local security, along with training of the local police force. Development assistance with schools, roads, bridges and medical care has improved the quality of life.

We have recently welcomed a team of Singapore Armed Forces personnel as part of the PRT, providing construction and medical care. We have built a strong partnership with the local government and people, but nevertheless face the challenge of high expectations and being held responsible for resolving problems which is properly the role of the Provincial Government.

What lessons can we draw from our experience?

A holistic approach

In each of these missions, peacekeeping and security forces are essential. They help stabilise a volatile situation as an essential first step.

But fragile states need to be assisted to move beyond stabilisation. Insecurity and violence are the most obvious and pressing problems, but they are the manifestation of the deep-seated weaknesses noted earlier, in particular ethnic tension, weak or corrupt central authorities, and lack of economic opportunity.

These problems must be tackled at the same time. RAMSI is an example of such an integrated intervention. While restoring law and order was RAMSI’s first priority when it was established in 2003, work began immediately on the mission’s other two pillars: machinery of government and economic development.

Each of the three pillars is essential to improve the lives of Solomon Islanders. Economic opportunity, good governance, and security go hand in hand.

A balanced approach

We must, as Kofi Annan put it, strike the right balance between hard and soft responses. Military forces will often be required to end instability and lawlessness where insurgents are a threat. In recognition of that we deployed three rotations of Special Forces personnel to Afghanistan.

But the use of force can undermine the consent environment, especially when that causes harm to local people. So-called collateral damage in dealing with insurgents or a heavy-handed approach to the local population will quickly turn them against intervention forces. Skill and sensitivity on the part of military forces is required to avoid that.

Use of force must be proportionate and highly discriminating. It needs to be balanced with the ability to get alongside the local people. Earning their respect and trust is critically important.

An inclusive approach

The relationship between the intervening partners and the host needs to be a partnership in pursuit of shared goals. Being invited by the host government and maintaining a consent environment are important elements in the success of a mission. This is not always straightforward.

Likewise the local government needs to maintain ownership of its country's problems and the solutions to them. Otherwise the intervening force is held responsible and to blame for what happens or doesn't happen.

The regional and international context

Inclusiveness also applies to the range of countries participating in a mission. Regional participation or cooperation and a multilateral mandate are important. Interventions are much more likely to succeed when neighbouring states lend their support.

The successful truce and peace missions that brought Bougainville out of conflict comprised neighbouring Pacific Island states that understood the environment and the people. The same dynamic is currently operating in the RAMSI mission in the Solomon Islands.

A stronger regional commitment in Timor-Leste, in parallel with the United Nations and bilateral commitments, is likewise essential to ensure Timor-Leste gets back on track to stability.

Collective interventions also build legitimacy, especially with the host government, and reduce the risk that some might see an intervention as just a form of neo-colonialism.

Finally, we regard authorisation from the UN Security Council as vital for regional peace operations. This may be by the establishment of a UN mandated peacekeeping operation or as in the case of Timor Leste, by the approval of a force invited by the government in question.

Conclusion

Defence and other security forces today regularly find themselves at the front end of rescue efforts for failed states. While their primary mission is to stabilise the situation and provide a security platform, they have to operate in what is by definition a fraught and contested political arena.

This places a premium on a wide range of non-military as well as military skills.

It also places a premium on multiple layers of coordination – between defence forces from different countries, between defence forces and other agencies and NGOs, between defence forces and the local government, and between defence forces and the international community, whether represented by the United Nations and its agencies or in some other way.

In the Asia Pacific region a variety of mechanisms have been used in addition to respond to the crises I have described above.

The EU/ASEAN Aceh monitoring mission, the Malaysian-led International Monitoring Team in the Southern Philippines, and the much earlier UN operation in Cambodia point to the variety of ways in which the regional and the wider international community can respond to conflicts and assist with post conflict peace building.

In March next year New Zealand with Singapore is co-hosting the second ARF peacekeeping experts meeting. Peacekeeping is a collective endeavor. In assisting fragile states, in every case New Zealand’s armed forces work along side other.

The peacekeeping experts meeting next year, following the one held in Malaysia in March, will give us an opportunity to pool our experiences and draw from them lessons for the future.

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