New Zealand Ministry of
Foreign Affairs and Trade
Manatū Aorere
11 April 2023
195 Lambton Quay
Private Bag 18−901
Wellington 6160
New Zealand
Adam Irish
T +64 4 439 8000
[FYI request #21812 email]
F +64 4 472 9596
OIA 28534
Tēnā koe Adam Irish
I refer to your email of 13 February 2023 to the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet
(DPMC) in which you request the following under the Official Information Act 1982 (OIA):
1.
What steps are being taken to enhance the country's defense capabilities in
light of current global security threats?
2.
How does the government plan to address the potential threat of conflict with
the People's Republic of China and maintain regional stability?
3.
What is the current defense budget as a percentage of GDP and how does this
compare to the recommended 2% for NATO partners?
4.
What measures are being taken to modernize and update the country's military
equipment and technology?
5.
How does the government plan to enhance the readiness and training of New
Zealand's military personnel?
6. What is the government's position on New Zealand's ANZUS treaty
obligations and how does it plan to address these commitments in the
event of a conflict?
7.
How is the government working with international partners to enhance
regional security and promote peace and stability?
8.
What is the government's strategy for addressing the threat of cyber attacks
and ensuring the country's critical infrastructure is protected?
On 23 February 2023, you were informed that a portion of your request, namely questions 6
and 7, were transferred to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (the Ministry) for response.
This transfer was received by the Ministry on 3 March 2023.
On 31 March 2023, you were informed the deadline to provide a decision on your request was
extended to 18 April 2023. Thank you for your patience.
In response to item 6 of your request, New Zealand takes its international treaty obligations
seriously, including those set out in the Australia, New Zealand and the United States Security
e [email address]
w www.mfat.govt.nz
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Treaty (ANZUS Treaty). Although the ANZUS Treaty security obligations between New Zealand
and the US have been suspended for some time, the New Zealand Government remains fully
committed to its ANZUS obligations with respect to Australia. Any responses to security issues in
our region would reflect this.
The Ministry is not required to respond to hypothetical questions or create new information
under the OIA. Therefore we have not responded to the second part of question 6 “…
how does it
plan to address these commitments in the event of a conflict?”
In response to question 7 of your request, New Zealand works with a range of international partners
to enhance regional security and promote peace and stability, both in our region of the Pacific and
in our wider Indo-Pacific home region.
In the Pacific, New Zealand has a strong commitment to supporting our region’s security, as set
out in the Pacific Islands Forum
Biketawa and
Boe Declarations. Where security issues arise in our
region, Pacific Islands Forum Leaders have emphasised a “family first” approach to security, in
line with the principle that the Pacific has the collective capacity and commitment to meet its own
security needs. New Zealand has been clear with all of our partners that it is important that
engagement in our region takes place in a manner which advances Pacific priorities and is
consistent with established regional practices.
In the wider Indo-Pacific, regional security issues also require a regional response. That is why we
work to address common security challenges together through our long-standing membership of
relevant Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) mechanisms such as the ASEAN
Defence Ministers’ Meeting-Plus (ADMM-Plus), the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF), the Expanded
ASEAN Maritime Forum (EAMF), and the East Asia Summit (EAS). Through our bilateral
Programme of Action with ASEAN, as well as cooperation programmes with individual countries,
we fund capacity-building programmes with ASEAN Member States in areas such as maritime
security, combatting transnational organised crime, combatting people smuggling, and in defence
policy.
Through these engagements, we seek to bolster ASEAN’s central role in the region on the basis
that ASEAN centrality is core to a peaceful, stable and prosperous Indo-Pacific, and a bulwark
against increasing geostrategic tensions. Through our attendance at ASEAN forums, particularly
the EAS, we directly call out behaviours in the region that run counter to the international rules-
based order on which all states rely.
The ADMM-Plus and ARF have specific regional security mandates. The ADMM-Plus aims to
strengthen security and defence cooperation amongst its members for peace, stability and
development in the region. The ADMM-Plus currently focuses on seven areas of practical
cooperation: maritime security, counter-terrorism, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief,
peacekeeping operations, military medicine, humanitarian mine action, and cyber security. The
ARF focuses on fostering constructive dialogue on political and security issues and building
cooperative ties in the region.
In addition to the ASEAN-centred engagements, New Zealand is committed to working alongside
partners in multilateral institutions, particularly the United Nations (UN), to uphold the
international rules-based order in support of regional peace and stability. This has included, for
example, New Zealand transits of the South China Sea in support of freedom of navigation and
overflight as guaranteed under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), and the
submission of a diplomatic note to the UN Secretary-General in 2021 putting on record
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New Zealand’s legal position on how UNCLOS applies in the South China Sea. The New Zealand
Defence Force (NZDF) also deploys 12 personnel to the United Nations Command in the Republic
of Korea. This is a multinational body established in 1950 to support peace and security on the
Korean Peninsula.
Section 1.3.4 of the Ministry of Defence’s Defence Assessment 2021 includes further information
on New Zealand’s network of international defence and security partners. The Assessment is
available on the Ministry of Defence’s website at the following link:
https://www.defence.govt.nz/assets/publication/file/Defence-Assessment-2021.pdf
Please note that we may publish this letter (with your personal details redacted) on the
Ministry’s website.
If you have any questions about this decision, you can contact us by email at:
[email address]. You have the right to seek an investigation and review by the
Ombudsman of this decision by contacting
www.ombudsman.parliament.nz or freephone
0800 802 602.
Nāku noa, nā
Sarah Corbett
for Secretary of Foreign Affairs and Trade
