www.waynemapp.co.nz

Doing What We Do Best

Discussion paper released

This week National released its discussion paper on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade.  This is the first time the Party has linked all three areas with a common approach.

A new era

The world is now 17 years into the new era; the post Cold War era.  There is now essentially a single trading and economic system covering the entire globe.  All countries are linked by it, and business has become truly global.  It is a dramatic contrast to the 20th century, which was racked by ideologically driven conflict involving large blocs of nations. 

Twice during the century, this resulted in global war causing the deaths of tens of millions of people, and the long running Cold War.  This type of global conflict has gone, and shows no sign of re-emerging.  Of course, this does not mean there is no armed conflict.  There are problems of terrorism and weak governance in many poorer states.  Our own region has plenty of examples of this.

Independent view for New Zealand

These changes mean fresh thinking is required.  New Zealand is no longer tightly tied into interlocking military alliances.  While an alliance driven approach may have been necessary during the bloc driven conflict, it is not a requirement of the new era.  New Zealand is able to take a more independent view, although we draw on our history for our most likely partnerships.

Partnership with Australia

We have particular responsibilities in our region, working with our closest partner Australia.  Together the two nations account for the great majority of the economic wealth, the technological infrastructure and the defence capability of the region.  If we don’t take an active interest in our region, then either others will or, more likely, problems will simply be ignored by the international community.

We also have an active interest and engagement in the broader issues of international security, where we can add our specialist skills.  As a smaller nation we also need to focus on what we do best.

Standing alongside the Pacific

As an example, in defence (my spokesmanship) our military forces should have the full range of capabilities necessary for our region. 

This is the South Pacific extending as far as East Timor.  Many of these nations are weak.  They do not have advanced military capabilities.  Rather, we need to stand alongside these nations, using our defence forces to build capacity in security, in developing infrastructure, and in patrol and surveillance of the region.

Making our contribution

Outside our region we need to be able to provide high quality, but focussed capabilities.  The New Zealand Defence Forces are highly regarded for their Special Forces, for logistics and surveillance, and increasingly for the particular expertise we bring to peacekeeping.  This is no longer an accidental by-product of the military; rather it is a core skill.  It explains why the Defence Force has increased the length of basic training to incorporate these skills.  New Zealand defence personnel are required to have some understanding of the language and culture of the places they go to.

Winning trust

Many other defence forces do not do this, and it makes the job of winning the trust of the local population very difficult.  New Zealand has shown how to excel in this difficult role of building trust with those communities. 

Dr Wayne Mapp

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