Foreign Minister Winston Peters 'unashamedly' calling on the US to do more in the Pacific

In a speech at Georgetown University in the US, Foreign Minister Winston Peters said there were "few relationships better than that between New Zealand and the United States". Photo / Mark Mitchell.

Foreign Minister Winston Peters is "unashamedly" calling on the Trump administration to engage more with the Pacific and to provide more aid to the region.

In a speech at Georgetown University in the US, he said there were "few relationships better than that between New Zealand and the United States".

"We share a special connection for we both retain democratic traditions that have stood firm despite the upheavals of the twentieth century."

The speech comes as part of Peters' trip to the US this week, where he is meeting with US Vice-President Mike Pence and Secretary of State Michael Pompeo.

In his speech, Peters said sharing some of New Zealand's concerns about the Pacific and enlisting greater US support in the region was a significant area of focus.

"We unashamedly ask for the United States to engage more and we think it is in your vital interests to do so. And time is of the essence."

One of the ways the US could help more would be increasing its aid to the region, Peters said.

Australia, which accounts for 40 per cent of the support in the Pacific, is the largest developed donor.

New Zealand is second but Peters said the US' assistance was similar in size to New Zealand's. However, the US' aid was focused on those parts of the Pacific where it has constitutional links.

"We are saying today to the United States that we welcome your involvement but ask you to join us in doing more because nations with common interests and common causes can achieve more together than any of us can manage on our own."

He said the Pacific was a "vast canvas" for the US' emergence as a global power in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries and it still has interests in the region today.

American Samoa, Guam, and the Northern Marianas, all remain US territories and Hawaii is a US state.

"The United States does not simply have interests in the Pacific. You are a part of it," Peters said.

One of New Zealand's top concerns, and something the Government was "archly concerned by", was the "asymmetries at play in the region".

Peters said this comes at a time when larger players are renewing their interest in the Pacific, with an attendant element of strategic competition.

"The speed and intensity of those interests at play are of great concern to us. Our eyes are wide open to this trajectory and we know that yours are too."

He did not, however, name these large players.