New Delhi: New Zealand believes that the ‘Five Eyes Alliance’ and the ‘Quadrilateral Security Dialogue’, or the Quad, each has a “specific focus” but “different objectives”, and that the both should operate independently of each other, according to their Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta. In an exclusive interview to ABP Live, the minister, who is currently visiting India, met External Affairs S. Jaishankar on Tuesday when both sides discussed the recent geopolitical tensions due to the Russia-Ukraine war and the growing strategic challenges within the Indo-Pacific region.
“That (Five Eyes Alliance) has a specific focus just like the Quad has a specific purpose. So, I don’t want either of those initiatives to take away from one another, they just have very different objectives in a common, broader set of objectives that are meant for the region,” Mahuta told ABP Live on being asked about India's potential entry into the grouping.
The ‘Five Eyes Alliance’ is an intelligence-sharing group consisting of Australia, New Zealand, US, UK and Canada. In 2021, a report by the US Congress’ Subcommittee on Intelligence and Special Operations suggested a possible expansion of the intelligence-sharing arrangement with the inclusion of India, Japan, South Korea and Germany.
The Quad is more of a strategic and diplomatic forum comprising the US, India, Australia and Japan.
The US report suggested that owing to increasing threats from China and Russia, it is imperative for the ‘Five Eyes Alliance’ to review its existing mechanism and include newer countries, thereby creating a “closer sharing framework”.
‘China Is A Challenge For The Pacific’
As a Pacific nation itself, Mahuta said, New Zealand also looks at China as a “challenge” with which it as well as other Pacific islands has a “complex relationship” and the issue came up during her meeting with Jaishankar.
“Indo-Pacific was big component and part of the conversation … We welcome India’s interest in the Pacific and we want to find ways that we can partner. Some of the opportunities could be through the ISA (International Solar Alliance) and some of the opportunities could well be in renewable energy and solar to support the Pacific,” said Mahuta.
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The minister added: “We also discussed the challenge of China. It’s a challenge we are also facing in the Pacific. It’s a complex relationship. We have to manage the relationship in a way that we pursue peace in the broader region.”
New Zealand came out with its own Indo-Pacific strategic vision as part of its foreign policy in August 2019. Thereafter, it aligned itself with the US version of Indo-Pacific in July 2021.
In terms of greater defence and security collaboration, both India and New Zealand are looking at greater cooperation.
“What we do know is that the opportunity between India and New Zealand is an important one in ensuring that we can work together in areas of mutual interests and having common aspirations. When I think of the common architecture, New Zealand upholds the centrality of ASEAN as it does within the Pacific Islands Forum. Those are two components of the broader Indo-Pacific region that we want to see secured,” she said.
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The Pacific Islands Forum is the region’s premier political and economic policy organisation. Founded in 1971, it comprises 18 members: Australia, Cook Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, French Polynesia, Kiribati, Nauru, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Republic of Marshall Islands, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu.
India-New Zealand Ties ‘Beyond’ Trade
Foreign Minister Mahuta reiterated that India and New Zealand ties are now more focused on climate change and not on enhancing two-way trade, effectively keeping the proposed free trade agreement on the back burner.
The negotiations for having an FTA was launched in 2010 and the last formal round of talks took place in February 2015.
“India-New Zealand ties are important and that’s about more than just trade… Sure there can be opportunities in the future but I think what we need to do in this very significant time of geopolitical tensions in our region is that we need to figure out who we can trust, who we can rely on in this time of need and India such a significant contributor to ensuring greater peace and stability in the region,” she said.
During External Affairs Minister Jaishankar’s visit to New Zealand in October 2022, Mahuta had said the FTA is “not a priority for New Zealand or India".
She said India and New Zealand have a sea-to-sea advantage and both Wellington and New Delhi are focussing on “stepping up the relationship” and “demonstrating that we are a reliable partner on a number of fronts, especially climate change”.
“It’s about relationships, it’s about economic opportunities, it’s about stability,” she added.
She said the Indo-Pacific is facing an “existential threat” in climate change issues and for that, it wants to partner with countries like India.
"We said that the Pacific side of the Indo-Pacific region is facing a climate threat, it’s an existential threat and this is a security threat. In order to ensure there is greater peace and stability, the key message that is coming out is that we need to ensure that we tackle the challenge of climate change and to find ways to partner opportunities and to increase the range of relationships that we have and that we work in the interest of the Pacific Islands for a broader approach to how we achieve stability and peace. This is our vision," Mahuta said.
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