Former Defence Minister Andrew Little has stirred up the AUKUS debate by aligning himself with pro-Western security alliances and distancing himself from Labour’s current preference for an independent foreign policy.
Speaking at a US- and Taiwan-funded conference, Little advocated for joining the AUKUS military pact, citing China as a growing threat.
Political commentator Bryce Edwards writes that his remarks were seen as a critique of former Prime Minister Helen Clark, who favours a more neutral approach.
Clark responded by accusing Little of being swayed by Western intelligence narratives.
Also in attendance were Labour MP Ingrid Leary and former National MP Simon O’Connor, both part of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China, which is critical of the Asian superpower.
The conference focused on New Zealand’s role in the “Asia-Pacific” region, However Edwards observes that:
“Helen Clark was especially critical that the security conference was part-funded by foreign governments (the US and Taiwan) and that it adopted the anti-Chinese terminology for the region of ‘Indo-Pacific’.
This is the term that the US State Department has asked countries like New Zealand to start using, instead of ‘Asia-Pacific’, because it de-emphasises China and Asia, instead drawing attention to US allies like India in the region.”
According to Edwards, the organisers did not have an explanation as to why no one from China, or with a Chinese perspective, had been invited.