New Zealand emphasising active diplomacy: Foreign Minister
Sydney (20 May)
New Zealand will continue to respond to geopolitical disruptions through active diplomacy in the coming years, the country’s Foreign Minister, Winston Peters, said in a speech on 20 May.
Diplomats have focused on holding face-to-face meetings with counterparts in dozens of countries since 2024 to build closer relations and advance New Zealand’s interests, Peters said.
In Asia, New Zealand sees freedom of navigation, peace in the Korean Peninsula and Taiwan Strait, disaster and humanitarian efforts, and countering crime, radicalisation, and terrorism as its core security interests, according to Peters.
New Zealand has participated in multiple joint freedom-of-navigation patrols – known as Maritime Coordination Activities (MCAs) – around the South China Sea since 2024. MCAs are meant to improve military cooperation and interoperability to support freedom of navigation, according to the United States Indo-Pacific Command.
It has also participated in North Korean sanctions-monitoring activities in the Yellow Sea and East China Sea since 2018, according to the New Zealand Defence Force.
In addition to outlining New Zealand’s national interests, Peters responded to criticisms of the Government’s recent diplomatic caution during his speech.
“New Zealand’s foreign policy is driven by prudence,” the Foreign Minister said. “If our national voice has not always been to everyone’s liking, or been loud enough for them, then perhaps it is because we are still trying to rebuild its strength,” he added.
New Zealand has invested less in diplomacy than similarly-sized countries like Ireland, weakening its economic position and diplomatic footprint, Peters said earlier in the speech.
The country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade will be excluded from planned public sector job cuts in 2026-27, Finance Minister Nicola Willis told Parliament later in the day.
New Zealand has declined to criticise the US-Israeli war in Iran since it began in late February, sparking opposition from the Labour Party and Green Party.
“The Prime Minister Luxon’s failure to condemn Trump’s illegal actions again demonstrates his lack of leadership or moral courage, and willingness to act against New Zealanders’ values,” Green Party Co-Leader Marama Davidson said on 1 March.
“It is entirely possible to condemn the repression carried out by the Iranian regime while also rejecting military escalation as the solution. New Zealand must say both,” Labour Leader Chris Hipkins added on 7 April.
By Avinash Govind