New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has pushed back on a central pillar of US President Joe Biden’s foreign policy, arguing it is overly simplistic to see modern geopolitics as a contest between democracies and authoritarian regimes such as China given the world is “bloody messy”.

In a major foreign policy speech in Sydney, Ardern also appeared to take a softer line on China’s growing presence in the Pacific after attracting furious criticism from China during a recent visit to the US.

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern told the Lowy Institute the Pacific region needed to be “free from coercion” and that the investment in the region “should be of high quality”.Credit:AAP

During her appearance at the Lowy Institute, Ardern said it was wrong to characterise the war in Ukraine as one of “the west versus Russia” or of “democracy versus autocracy”.

“We’re a liberal democracy and we seek to promote, of course, the values that are important to us,” Ardern said. “But what we also seek is to ensure that we base our foreign policy responses on facts, not assertion and assumption.”

She continued: “Let’s not assume that China, as a member of the [United Nations] Security Council does not have a role to play in placing pressure [on Russia] in response to what is the loss of territorial integrity.

“Let’s not just isolate it and assume that it’s only democracies that take this view.”

Echoing remarks he has repeatedly made as president, Biden said during a speech on military funding for Ukraine earlier this year: “Folks, there’s an ongoing battle in the world between autocracy and democracy.”

Ardern cautioned against a simplistic understanding of global affairs, saying “the honest reality is that the world is bloody messy. And yet, amongst all the complexity, we still often see issues portrayed in a black and white way.”

In her speech, Ardern said the Pacific region needed to be “free from coercion” and that the investment in the region “should be of high quality”.

She cautioned against overstating the threat of China in the Pacific following its joint security agreement with the Solomon Islands, saying: “France, Japan, the UK, US, and China have all played a role in the Pacific for many, many years.”

“It would be wrong to characterise this engagement, including that of China, as new. It would also be wrong to position the Pacific in such a way that they have to ‘pick sides.’ These are democratic nations with their own sovereign right to determine their foreign policy engagements.”

Ardern angered China during a visit last month to the US where she and Biden issued a joint statement recording their concern about the China-Solomons security agreement.

During a visit to Washington in June, Ardern and US President Joe Biden raising concern about the China-Solomon Islands pact. Credit:AP

“In particular, the United States and New Zealand share a concern that the establishment of a persistent military presence in the Pacific by a state that does not share our values or security interests would fundamentally alter the strategic balance of the region and pose national-security concerns to both our countries,” the leaders said.

China Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Zhao Lijian hit out at the joint statement, saying it “distorts and smears China’s normal co-operation with Pacific Island countries”.

With tensions rising in the Indo-Pacific, Ardern called for calm, arguing that “diplomacy must become the strongest tool and de-escalation the loudest call”.

“We won’t succeed, however, if those parties we seek to engage with are increasingly isolated and the region we inhabit becomes increasingly divided and polarised,” she said. “We must not allow the risk of a self-fulfilling prophecy to become an inevitable outcome for our region.”

Ardern told the Lowy Institute that “even as China becomes more assertive in the pursuit of its interests, there are still shared interests on which we can and should cooperate”.

“The post-war order and the rules that underpin it have supported China’s rise, and as a permanent member of the Security Council, China has a crucial role to play in upholding that order,” she said.

“Ultimately, rather than increased strategic competition in the region though, we need instead to look for areas to build and cooperate, recognising the sovereignty and independence of those for whom the region really is home.”

Ardern said that tackling climate change must be a foreign policy priority, especially given the threat posed by rising sea levels to Pacific nations.

“While we all have a concern, and rightly so, about any moves towards militarisation of our region, that must surely be matched by a concern for those who experience the violence of climate change,” she said.

The Morning Edition newsletter is our guide to the day’s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up here.

Most Viewed in National

From our partners

Source: Read Full Article