Pacific Island delegations are not junkets

Opinion: The annual delegation of senior MPs that the Minister of Foreign Affairs leads to various Pacific Island states has often been derided as a junket. As a veteran of many of these delegations, I can confirm that the itinerary is not all that formal at times, although that is more a consequence of the Pacific way of doing things. More importantly, I can also confirm that the delegation provides a rare opportunity for engagement between senior politicians, business and community leaders and officials on subjects that might not otherwise make it onto the political agenda.

For example, I well recall on one occasion learning informally of the plans of the then Premier of Niue to attract more investment to his island – something New Zealand was supportive of – by diverting New Zealand aid funding from development projects to cutting taxes. His aim was to attract investment away from New Zealand to Niue, to keep his dwindling population from decamping further to New Zealand. He wanted to use New Zealand aid to cut taxes to levels below those applying in New Zealand, something that was clearly not going to be acceptable to the New Zealand government. Suffice it to say that after further discussions in Wellington with New Zealand ministers the plan did not proceed any further.

I remember visiting a village in Tonga where New Zealand aid was being used to extend electricity provision to the area which meant that schoolchildren would be able to use a computer at home to do their homework. I also visited a school in the Cook Islands where the students, who were under the New Zealand NCEA framework, did not have the same access to computers as their New Zealand counterparts, and so were significantly disadvantaged. The upshot was sending more surplus computers from New Zealand to the Cook Islands to help students there.

These visits not only underscore New Zealand’s close relationship with many of the Pacific states but they also often show us, by virtue of what other countries have done, how not to act in our relationships with our Pacific neighbours. For example, in the late 1980s the Australian government gifted an inshore naval patrol vessel to Samoa for the purposes of maritime surveillance and fisheries patrols. The only problem was that Samoa did not have a navy, so had no crew to man the ship, which was consequently permanently tied up at the wharf. And then there was the story of the Chinese government which in the early 2000s gifted a fleet of large limousines to the Vanuatu government for official use. However, the state of many of the roads in Vanuatu at the time made their use impractical.

Today, China’s influence looms ever larger over the Pacific. Through its Belt and Road initiative China is aiming to link the major civilisations of Europe, Africa, and Asia in a modern reincarnation of the old Silk Road. China sees the maritime “road” linking Asia with the Pacific islands as a key part of its global plan for economic and cooperative social development. Thus, its increasing political and economic interest in forming good relationships with the states of the Pacific region, which is leading the US to also become more active in what it calls the “Indo-Pacific”.

China’s rival Taiwan, which also has Pacific interests, increasingly struggles to compete economically and politically with China in the region. More Pacific states are shifting their diplomatic allegiance from Taiwan to China. However, newly inaugurated President Lai Ching-te is likely to intensify Taiwan’s Pacific efforts through a two-pronged, more people-centred approach focusing on scholarships, technical assistance, and other development initiatives, alongside increasing emphasis on so-called indigenous diplomacy, built around ethnic and cultural connections with Pacific peoples.

The current unrest in New Caledonia – our nearest international neighbour – is also of relevance to New Zealand. The 1988 Matignon Accords brought to an end years of unrest and bloodshed during the 1980s and appeared to settle New Caledonia’s eventual path to self-determination. The Accords established the prospect of gradual autonomy for the French territory by restricting voting to (mainly French) migrants living in New Caledonia before 1998, and their children (about a third of the population), and the indigenous Kanak who comprise 44 percent of the population.  

However, recent moves by France to extend the right to vote to any French citizen who has lived for 10 years in the territory have outraged Kanak, who consider this a deliberate move to “stack” the New Caledonia electorate away from any future vote for independence. Though the resolution of the current constitutional crisis is an internal one for France and New Caledonia to resolve peacefully and democratically, New Zealand, as a near neighbour, does have an interest in an outcome that enhances stability and cohesion in the Pacific and does not invite unwelcome external intervention. Moreover, Kanak leaders see Australia and New Zealand as more likely positive future connections than France’s Western European allies. So, our challenge will be responding, as part of the Pacific community, to their aspirations while also pursuing our wider relations with France and the European Union.

For those reasons, this year’s Minister of Foreign Affairs’ Pacific delegation was intending to visit New Caledonia, a visit that was unfortunately (but wisely in the circumstances) cancelled. Nevertheless, the dialogue this year’s planned visit would have sought to establish remains important. Hopefully, therefore, next year’s Pacific delegation will be able to visit New Caledonia in more peaceful circumstances to strengthen mutual relations.

In a time of great international uncertainty, highlighted by the volatile situation in Ukraine and Gaza, and rising tensions elsewhere, New Zealand cannot afford to become distracted, or to ignore or downplay its Pacific relationships. Delegations such as the Minister of Foreign Affairs’ annual Pacific visits are an important way of reinforcing and strengthening these relationships. They deserve to be taken more seriously.