Audrey Young: Winston Peters A to Z – tumultuous times in foreign affairs
Ever since Kiribati switched diplomatic allegiances from Taiwan to China, it has been more difficult to deal with.
Peters has also clashed with Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown over the failure of the Cooks, part of the realm of New Zealand, to consult with Peters about a comprehensive partnership it has entered with China.
This has resulted in a review of the governing arrangements, which Peters announced last night.
In China, Peters is expected to discuss the country’s relationship with the Pacific with Foreign Minister Wang Yi.
While the real knotty problem is the relationship between the Cooks and New Zealand and Kiribati and New Zealand, China is the common denominator and may tacitly encourage their truculence.
Peters is expected to remind China that the Cook Islands is a realm country of New Zealand by its own choice, and not fully independent.
The trip will take in five countries, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, China, Mongolia and South Korea.
Peters had a punishing travel schedule with about 112 days offshore as he sought to establish or renew relationships.
He has visited 39 countries in this, his third stint as Foreign Minister.
That has included 16 of the 17 members of the Pacific Islands Forum and seven of the 10 Asean countries.
The schedule this year is likely to be closer to 50 days away although getting to the United States to engage with the new Administration is expected to be a priority.
He is also likely to travel to the Cook Islands in August for the 60th Constitution Day celebrations when the Cooks became self-governing in free association with New Zealand.
By that time, New Zealand and Cooks should be ready to agree on the reset relationship.
A is for America
America under Donald Trump 2.0 is creating apoplexy and whiplash in global affairs from such actions as imposing tariffs, lifting tariffs, talking up annexing Canada, talking up the Gaza strip as the riviera of the Middle East – minus its two million inhabitants – ruling out Nato membership for Ukraine, ruling in Nato membership for Ukraine, starting peace talks with Russia on Ukraine without the Ukrainians, and blaming Ukraine for starting the war. And that’s just 30 days in. Peters has had a phone conversation with his new US counterpart Marco Rubio. The temptation may be to lay low and do nothing to needle the eagle but Peters is aiming to get the US as soon as he can.
B is for Beijing
Winston Peters is leaving for an extensive trip this week including a visit to Beijing. He will be laying plans for a visit there by Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and, perhaps with forlorn hope, seeking greater transparency and a more constructive role in China’s dealings with the Pacific.
C is for Cook Islands
The last country on earth that Winston Peters would have anticipated getting into a ding-doing with but its failure to consult with New Zealand before signing a strategic partnership with China is a clear breach of its governing arrangements. It led to an announcement by Peters last night of a reset of the relationship involving setting the parameters of the governance relationship. It’s a justified response. Things cannot be left to fester. If the Cooks does not believe it has breached the rules, the rules need to be clarified.
D is for Daniel Dubois
It’s not often that diplomacy is fun but Peters’ coming trip to the Middle East is shaping up as such with a date this Saturday to watch Kiwi Joseph Parker (and nephew of Defence Minister Judith Collins) in his challenge of Brit Daniel Dubois in Riyadh for the heavyweight title of the International Boxing Federation. Peters will also attend the $20 million Saudi Cup – the richest horse race in the world – and scout for wealthy investors in NZ’s bloodstock industry.
E is for Europe
Europe is in a state of shock having been initially sidelined by the US on peace talks with Russia. New Zealand has been drawn closer to Europe through the international response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, including New Zealand’s deployment of about 100 personnel mainly for training, intelligence and logistics support, and the free trade agreement with the EU that took effect last year.
F is for Five Eyes
Peters is placing greater importance than he was able in the previous Government on traditional friends such as the other members of the Five Eyes security alliance, the United States, Britain, Canada and Australia but domestic controversy has shifted from the expansion of the Five Countries’ purview to whether NZ should sign up to Aukus Pillar II.
G is for Gaza
Much of the world, New Zealand included, has become increasingly critical of Israel’s response to the massacre by Hamas in October 2023 because of the horrifying number of civilian casualties of Palestinians in Gaza. Peters naturally leans towards Israel (he once studied Hebrew) but even he has been critical of Israel over the “catastrophe” in Gaza.
H is for Helen
Helen Clark has been a thorn in the Government’s side over the merits or demerits of signing up to the Aukus Pillar II and Peters has been unstinting in his criticism. But she lined up with the Government’s response to the Cook Islands deal with China, saying the Cooks’ lack of consultation breached the declaration she oversaw in 2001. As a true foreign policy heavyweight, and a member of Nelson Mandela’s elite international Elders group, criticisms of her by Peters look petty.
I is for India – and Indonesia
National made the highly unusual election promise to deliver a trade deal with India this term. That handed India the power to offer a weak deal to New Zealand in the knowledge that keeping its promise would be paramount. Indonesia is just as important but less well-known. Peters has invested heavily in the relationship – three visits so far including President Prabowo’s inauguration in October – but disappointingly, the president has just cancelled a visit there by Luxon.
J is for JD
JD Vance is Donald Trump’s Vice-President, a former Trump critic and author turned supporter. Peters invested much in his relationship with former VP Mike Pence, particularly on trade, and that will be difficult to replicate. Vance stunned Europe’s leaders at the Munich security conference over the weekend by accusing them of suppressing free speech, and not addressing mass migration. He then snubbed the Chancellor and met the leader of Germany’s hard-right AfD party. “There’s a new sheriff in town,” he declared.
K is for Kiribati
NZ has begun a review of aid to Kiribati (over $100 million in the past three years) after President Taneti Maamau declined to meet with Peters. Rude. It is all about China, of course. With a massive exclusive economic zone – the 12th largest in the world – and situated about 2500 km from Hawaii, China wants to be very, very, very good friends. But it’s allegiance to China is contaminating other relationships. Perhaps it should take lessons from NZ on to have win-win friendships with China and the West. It may also require a go-between to repair the rift. Fiji, perhaps.
L is for Lawrence
Lawrence Wong is an important person in Asia, being the Prime Minister of Singapore, New Zealand’s closest friend in Asia. The omens are good: PM Luxon was visiting when Wong took over in May last year and was his first foreign visitor. He is only the fourth PM in 66 years.
M is for Mexico
Yikes! It’s no surprise that Shane Jones’ Trump-like quip across the House about sending Mexicans home didn’t play well with the Mexican ambassador, Alfredo Perez Bravo, who is also dean of the diplomatic corps. It led to private reassurances from Peters that it meant nothing. But the Mexican-born MP Ricardo Menendez March might well counsel his Green colleagues to stop referring to Jones and Peters as Trump.
Nato
New Zealand was initially a cautious member of Nato’s club in the Indo-Pacific, the so-called IP4, with Australia, Japan and South Korea. It built on a “partner” relationship from Nato’s leadership in Afghanistan. With Prime Ministers Ardern, Hipkins and now Luxon all attending full Nato summits, Judith Collins attending a Defence Ministers’ meeting and Peters attending a Foreign Ministers’ meeting, NZ’s commitment to “partner” status has deepened, despite the current crisis between the US and Europe members of Nato, a post-WWII military alliance of 32 countries.
O is for Olaf Scholz
It looks like it could be “Auf Wiedersehen” to German Chancellor and Social Democrat leader Olaf Scholz after the collapse of his three-way coalition and the weekend’s snap election. The importance of stability in the EU’s largest economy at this critical time of global instability cannot be over-emphasised.
P is for the Philippines
The Marcos dynasty is back in power. Given its proximity, its population (117 million), and its Western-friendly values, and its source of labour to NZ, it is a sorely neglected area for New Zealand diplomacy. Peters has announced the relationship will be elevated to a comprehensive partnership by 2026. It was a priority stop for PM Luxon on his Southeast Asia trip in 2024.
Q is for Qatar
Qatar’s stature is growing in importance not just for New Zealand but internationally. It is part of the Gulf Cooperation Council, which concluded a free trade deal with New Zealand in October. And it has played a pivotal role in the Gaza ceasefire by keeping communication open with Hamas. Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani visited last year.
R is for Riyadh
Riyadh in Saudi Arabia is the “it” destination this week. It is the venue for the preliminary talks on a Ukraine peace deal between US Foreign Secretary Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and, coincidentally, where Peters is headed tomorrow.
S is for South Korea
The last stop on Peters’ next trip will be South Korea to meet his counterpart Cho Tae-yul, a former ambassador to the UN who has been Foreign Minister for about a year. It will be their first meeting since President Yoon Suk Yeol threw the country into crisis by declaring martial law in December. He was arrested last month and faces charges of insurrection.
T is for Trudeau
Justin Trudeau, Canadian Prime Minister for the past nine years, is due to step down on March 9 when his replacement will be named. Few tears will be shed in NZ. Canada was a late entrant to the TPP, then delayed its completion in 2017, then changed its name and has since reverted to protectionist behaviour over NZ dairy imports and ignored rulings against it. In his first meeting with Jacinda Ardern and Winston Peters, on the sidelines of Apec in 2017, Trudeau surprised the NZ delegation with a lecture on the importance of feminism in foreign policy.
U is for Ukraine
British PM Sir Keir Starmer is shining at last over Ukraine. He was first out of the blocks pledging peace-keepers for a truce in Ukraine. New Zealand was next. From the outset, New Zealand has helped Ukraine fight the Russian invasion and has provided over $130m in support so far, including trainers in the UK. Peters talked to Ukraine’s new Foreign Minister, Andrii Sybiha, on Tuesday.
V is for Vietnam
New Zealand maintains strong relations with Vietnam despite it being a communist state and Prime Minister Christopher Luxon is headed there next week. It’s an important member of Asean, has a population of 100 million and is a member of the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans Pacific Partnership.
W is for Wang
Wang Yi, one of the powerful and experienced diplomats in the world, will meet with Peters in Beijing next week where the Cook Islands will be top of the agenda. It will be Peters’ first visit to China since regaining the portfolio in 2023 but the latest of many encounters with Wang who has been President Xi Jinping’s chief diplomat since 2013.
X is for X
Winston Peters has been an incredibly active Foreign Minister and that is confirmed by his extensive coverage of meetings and statements on social media, particularly on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter. That task is shared by close advisers Jon Johansson, MFAT adviser Michael Appleton and senior press secretary John Tulloch.
Y is for Yemen
Peters and Defence Minister Judith Collins courted controversy a year ago by announcing a deployment of six NZDF personnel to join a US-led coalition responding to attacks by Houthi rebels in Yemen on shipping in the Red Sea. That is in addition to about 60 personnel serving in four other longstanding deployments in the Middle East. The deployment ended three weeks ago.
Z is for Zelenskyy
Since the former comedian became president of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy has had nothing to laugh about. It has been three years of resolute defiance against Russia’s invasion. Not the dictator that Trump accuses him of being but a modern-day hero leading an inspirational fight-back.
The countries Winston Peters has visited since December 2023: Fiji (twice), Australia (twice), Tonga (twice), Cook Islands, Samoa (twice), India, Indonesia (thrice), Singapore, Egypt, Poland, Belgium, Sweden, United States (twice), Türkiye, Solomon Islands (twice), Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, Tuvalu, Vietnam, Malaysia, Philippines, Timor-Leste, Nauru, Niue, Republic of Korea, Japan, Laos, Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Palau, French Polynesia, Thailand, Peru, Mexico, Chile, France, Germany, United Kingdom, New Caledonia.