How New Zealand Could Save the Five Eyes

How New Zealand Could Save the Five Eyes

New Zealand has made a major policy change. It marginalized itself as a member of Five Eyes, the intel sharing agreement between the US, the UK, Australia, Canada, and New Zealand when it tied itself to China economically in 2008. Now that China is trying to get basing rights within striking distance of New Zealand, they have woken up.


New Zealand’s new government was elected in October but has already signaled what its foreign policy will look like – and it revolves around the U.S.-led intelligence-sharing network known as the Five Eyes. For years, the country has been the least involved of the group’s members, which also include Australia, Canada and the United Kingdom, preferring to balance between China and its Western partners. But last week, Foreign Minister Winston Peters announced that the government in Wellington would work more closely with its traditional partners.


The Five Eyes is arguably the closest ideological grouping that formed after the end of World War II. It began as a partnership between London and Washington but eventually expanded to include other close allies. Each member is responsible for intelligence gathering and analysis on specific regions of the world, and the sharing of that intelligence has been paramount to their respective national securities. Today, its primary purpose is to counter Chinese assertiveness in the Asia-Pacific.


On its own, New Zealand is by far the smallest and least influential member. In fact, after it strengthened trade ties with China in 2008, successive governments have been reluctant to speak out against Beijing, creating a vulnerability in the alliance with regard to its biggest security concern. Wellington’s renewed interest in the grouping, then, doesn’t so much make it more powerful as it does plug an important gap in its security network.


It also gives the government an opportunity to deepen integration with the AUKUS security alliance, a trilateral partnership whereby the U.S. and the U.K. are helping Australia acquire nuclear-powered submarines. At first, New Zealand was not invited to join AUKUS; there were concerns over its willingness to engage and a fear of Chinese proximity to highly sensitive technologies they would inevitably develop. And for years, Wellington was outspoken in its desire for a nuclear-free Pacific, a stance that has created tensions with the United States. Publicly cooperating with the Five Eyes at the expense of its economic ties with China and expressing a desire to be included in AUKUS will go a long way to allaying whatever concern its allies had over New Zealand’s loyalty.


The potential consequences of the policy reversal should not be understated.



***

In other words, the time for balancing between China and the Five Eyes has run its course, and New Zealand’s long-term interests lie with the Five Eyes. The increased threats posed by Chinese assertiveness and technology theft seem to have shifted Wellington’s viewpoint given New Zealand would struggle to have the capabilities to unilaterally protect itself. To underscore this position, the foreign minister called Australia New Zealand’s closest friend and pledged to “vigorously refresh engagement with our traditional like-minded partners,” calling out to the U.S., Canada and the U.K. by name in his Monday speech. The next day, Defense Minister Judith Collins said New Zealand should be included in the second pillar of AUKUS involving information sharing on advanced military technology, AI, hypersonics and development of highly sensitive cyber capabilities. Put simply, the government figures that going all in with the Five Eyes will make New Zealand more welcome in AUKUS. And its inclusion will both strengthen the alliance and ultimately put more pressure on China.


https://geopoliticalfutures.com/how-new-zealand-could-save-the-five-eyes/?tpa=Njg5ZTVmOWYwMTZhNDEzM2I0MWM2NTE3MDM3NzgyNTcyOWUwZGQ&utm_content

HawkTheSlayer wrote:How New Zealand Could Save the Five Eyes

New Zealand has made a major policy change. It marginalized itself as a member of Five Eyes, the intel sharing agreement between the US, the UK, Australia, Canada, and New Zealand when it tied itself to China economically in 2008. Now that China is trying to get basing rights within striking distance of New Zealand, they have woken up.


New Zealand’s new government was elected in October but has already signaled what its foreign policy will look like – and it revolves around the U.S.-led intelligence-sharing network known as the Five Eyes. For years, the country has been the least involved of the group’s members, which also include Australia, Canada and the United Kingdom, preferring to balance between China and its Western partners. But last week, Foreign Minister Winston Peters announced that the government in Wellington would work more closely with its traditional partners.


The Five Eyes is arguably the closest ideological grouping that formed after the end of World War II. It began as a partnership between London and Washington but eventually expanded to include other close allies. Each member is responsible for intelligence gathering and analysis on specific regions of the world, and the sharing of that intelligence has been paramount to their respective national securities. Today, its primary purpose is to counter Chinese assertiveness in the Asia-Pacific.


On its own, New Zealand is by far the smallest and least influential member. In fact, after it strengthened trade ties with China in 2008, successive governments have been reluctant to speak out against Beijing, creating a vulnerability in the alliance with regard to its biggest security concern. Wellington’s renewed interest in the grouping, then, doesn’t so much make it more powerful as it does plug an important gap in its security network.


It also gives the government an opportunity to deepen integration with the AUKUS security alliance, a trilateral partnership whereby the U.S. and the U.K. are helping Australia acquire nuclear-powered submarines. At first, New Zealand was not invited to join AUKUS; there were concerns over its willingness to engage and a fear of Chinese proximity to highly sensitive technologies they would inevitably develop. And for years, Wellington was outspoken in its desire for a nuclear-free Pacific, a stance that has created tensions with the United States. Publicly cooperating with the Five Eyes at the expense of its economic ties with China and expressing a desire to be included in AUKUS will go a long way to allaying whatever concern its allies had over New Zealand’s loyalty.


The potential consequences of the policy reversal should not be understated.



***

In other words, the time for balancing between China and the Five Eyes has run its course, and New Zealand’s long-term interests lie with the Five Eyes. The increased threats posed by Chinese assertiveness and technology theft seem to have shifted Wellington’s viewpoint given New Zealand would struggle to have the capabilities to unilaterally protect itself. To underscore this position, the foreign minister called Australia New Zealand’s closest friend and pledged to “vigorously refresh engagement with our traditional like-minded partners,” calling out to the U.S., Canada and the U.K. by name in his Monday speech. The next day, Defense Minister Judith Collins said New Zealand should be included in the second pillar of AUKUS involving information sharing on advanced military technology, AI, hypersonics and development of highly sensitive cyber capabilities. Put simply, the government figures that going all in with the Five Eyes will make New Zealand more welcome in AUKUS. And its inclusion will both strengthen the alliance and ultimately put more pressure on China.


https://geopoliticalfutures.com/how-new-zealand-could-save-the-five-eyes/?tpa=Njg5ZTVmOWYwMTZhNDEzM2I0MWM2NTE3MDM3NzgyNTcyOWUwZGQ&utm_content

,"" Foreign Minister Winston Peters ""


Winston has been around forever, hes a hard nosed bastard, take no prisoners sorta guy

Australia is full of traitors, 5 eyes should be known as brown eyes.

And the US is property of the CCP now. Anyway, the Federal government is.

I have zero faith in ANY of these super-sleuth-for-good setups, anymore. We see what the FBI and CIA are being used for. Why would Interpol and the International Justice Court not be used for the same travesties? Why not MI6 and various other agencies?

We are now in a world without morality; which means no one in government can be trusted. PROVEN that they cannot be trusted.

True, the likes of 5 eyes spend their time spying on local populations. Info is now the same as money, just a different currency.
Every man for himself, we're going down.