There are “increasing and compounding threats” to New Zealand’s security, the Ministry of Defence warns, with an “increasing risk of conflict directly affecting” the country’s national security.
In a speech to a Diplosphere event in Wellington on Wednesday morning, Minister of Defence Judith Collins put it simply: “When two elephants fight, little ants can get squashed.”
“China is a very good friend to us, we have a lot of cooperation around science as well as the economic issues and climate change in particular. We also have a very good friend in the United States, so we are very careful with what we do, with what we say, and how we operate. But we are also nobody’s fools.”
Those comments came ahead of Collins announcing chiefs of the Navy, Army and Air Force – Commodore Garin Golding, Brigadier Rose King and Air Vice-Marshal Darryn Webb, respectively.
“These accomplished leaders are the New Zealand Defence Force’s [NZDF] most senior officers in their service, bringing a wealth of experience and strategic insight and being dedicated to serving our country,” Collins said
“The Government is committed to ensuring the NZDF is well-led and well-prepared to meet the challenges of an increasingly complex global security environment.”
Golding is currently the Defence Force’s Maritime Component Commander, a role he has held since 2021. He joined the Navy in 1988.
King is the first woman to be appointed the Chief of Army. She joined the Army in 1991.
Collins said it was “pretty amazing” to have the first female Chief of Army. Collins is the first female Minister of Defence.
“We’ve come a long way as a country and the services have come a long way,” the minister said. “Rose King is absolutely the right person for the job. She is there on full merit as everyone else is.”
King called it a “huge honour and privilege”. When she first joined the organisation, she said there were certain areas she couldn’t join due to her gender, but now it is open to everyone.
“I’m really looking forward to be able to bring the difference in leadership that I do as a woman,” she said.
She noted she is a mother of two and her husband also serves.
Webb is likely the most well-known of the group. He was involved in the Government’s response to Covid-19, including as the Head of Managed Isolation and Quarantine. During that stint, he featured at a number of Covid-19 press conferences. He’s been the Air Force chief since 2023.
He was asked on Wednesday for his thoughts about replacing the breakdown-prone 757 planes, which are often used to transport the Prime Minister and other officials overseas. They were used this week to take leaders to Tonga for the Pacific Islands Forum.
“They are still a really important asset for New Zealand and they will be for the foreseeable future. There is a process under way to consider their replacement.”
He acknowledged assessments have found they are nearing the end of their operating lives.
The trio have been appointed for a term of three years starting from August 27.
The Ministry of Defence on Tuesday released a new statement of intent, in which it said New Zealand is “facing a more challenging strategic environment than we have for decades”.
“The use, and threat of use, of military power is increasingly shaping states’ interactions.”
In this more complex environment, the ministry believes stronger relationships with “Indo-Pacific and Five Eyes partners are even more important”.
The document explicitly states that China’s “assertive pursuit of its strategic objectives is the new major driver for the new era of strategic competition among states, both globally and particularly in the Indo-Pacific”.
In her speech, Collins also mentioned the South China Sea, parts of which have been the focus of territorial disputes. China says it has sovereignty over the waters, despite The Hague previously ruling there isn’t a legal basis for such a claim.
“We are seeing challenges to maritime sovereignty as a result of the ambitions of conflicting states,” the minister said.
This isn’t the first time a New Zealand agency or minister has highlighted the more competitive global – and regional – environment, but it comes at a critical time for defence.
Defence leadership is currently devising a new plan outlining what capabilities New Zealand needs in the modern world. While the plan for investment was expected for public release sometime in the middle of this year, it’s since been delayed to either late 2024 or early next year.
Collins said the new chiefs have already been involved in the Defence Capability Plan development in their previous roles. Brook Barrington, the new Secretary of Defence, also needs to be involved, she said.
“I think it is really important that we get it right.”
The Government is also exploring whether New Zealand would want to sign on to Aukus Pillar II – the advanced technology side of the trilateral agreement between Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States (three of the Five Eyes members). Ministers have been quick to note New Zealand hasn’t actually been invited to join yet.
The minister called it “very early days” and a “bit of a dance at the moment”.
While not specifically mentioning Aukus, Collins said that in the defence and security space, “it was crucial that we are able to maintain access to leading edge thinking, innovation and capabilities”.
“This is one of the major benefits for New Zealand of our alliance with Australia and also with our membership of the Five Eyes partnership. I am equally committed, however, to our wider set of defence and security partnerships with Pacific states and with our partners in the wider Indo-Pacific and further afield.”
She said collective security arrangements continued to be critical for New Zealand.
The ministry’s document also mentions the ongoing conflict in Ukraine “stemming from Russia’s illegal invasion” more than two years ago “continues to have consequences for the international rules-based system”.
New Zealand has “benefited” from that system for decades, the document states.
“In recent years, growing strategic competition has challenged the effectiveness of this system,” it says.
“Some states are acting in ways counter to recognised international rules and norms, and advancing competing visions for regional and global orders that are at odds with New Zealand’s values and interests.
“This strategic competition is increasingly the backdrop for states’ relationships, and is prompting major powers and regional states to adopt more offensive postures, join new partnerships, and invest in defence and other instruments of national power.”
The ministry says that the Government expects New Zealand will contribute to global security and the reinforcement of the international rules-based system.
The document mentions New Zealand’s contributions to “peace and security” in the Middle East and Africa. Earlier this year, New Zealand deployed personnel to the Red Sea to uphold maritime security there in the face of Houthi attacks on international shipping.
Climate change is also noted as a “paramount global challenge” that is “directly affecting national and regional security” and “exacerbating strategic competition and other security threats”.
The effects of climate change and other regional security issues are expected to be canvassed by Pacific leaders at the annual Pacific Islands Forum leaders’ retreat in Tonga this week. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon touched down there on Tuesday evening.
The statement of intent also outlines three core focus areas the Minister of Defence has identified, including reinvigorating relationships with key security partners, setting a clear policy direction to increase defence capabilities, and rebuilding personnel capability.
Budget 2024 included $571 million of new funding for defence pay, equipment and upgrades, including $163 million for personnel remuneration.
Jamie Ensor is a political reporter in the NZ Herald Press Gallery team based at Parliament. He was previously a TV reporter and digital producer in the Newshub Press Gallery office.
A Chinese cameraman brought a unique camera to film Luxon in Beijing.