PM sets sights on South East Asia

Sunday, 14 April 2024

PM Christopher Luxon and the climate change minister are off to South East Asia.

The prime minister is setting off today with a hefty business delegation and the climate change minister in tow, for a jam-packed trade mission to South East Asia.

Provided the air force plane does not break down again, Christopher Luxon will be en route to Singapore today, in an attempt to strengthen relationships in a region rife with tension. From there, Luxon will travel to Thailand, then the Philippines.

Luxon’s meeting with Philippines president Ferdinand Marcos Jr. will shortly follow Marcos’ recent White House trip.

Just days ago, US President Joe Biden promised to defend the Philippines from any attack in the South China Sea, after the Philippines accused the Chinese coastguard of two collisions, according to The Guardian.

Following the White House summit with Marcos and Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, the three leaders released a joint statement, expressing “serious concerns about the People’s Republic of China’s (PRC) dangerous and aggressive behaviour in the South China Sea”.

Announcing the trip, Luxon described the region as “more crucial than ever to New Zealand’s prosperity and our security”.

Armed with a promise of putting “fresh energy and intensity to New Zealand’s relationships offshore”, trade is on the agenda, as well as strengthening ties for regional security.

The region is the world's fifth-largest economy, accounting for just under 10% of New Zealand’s exports, worth more than $9.1 billion in 2023.

New Zealand is part of the ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand Free Trade Area agreement, which all three countries Luxon is visiting are also part of.

Invited by Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, Luxon previously described Singapore as “one of our most important partners in South East Asia, and one of our largest sources of foreign investment”.

New Zealand sends about $2.3 billion worth of exports to Singapore, importing about $8b worth of goods from Singapore.

Next stop is Thailand, which New Zealand imports $3b from and exports $1.4b to, while the Philippines exports $989 million to New Zealand, and receives $391m of New Zealand goods.

NZ Trade and Enterprise SE Asia regional director Rachael Kerr described the three markets as “critical to the Government's ambition to diversify our trade and accelerate New Zealand's economic growth”.

While Luxon and the business delegation’s eye may be on diversifying trade, Trade Minister Todd McClay is visiting China, which he called one of New Zealand’s “most significant trade and economic relationships” which “remains an important destination for New Zealand’s products”.

'Growing our trade relationships and exports will boost New Zealand’s economy, and it is only through a strong economy we can lift incomes, reduce the cost of living and afford the public services Kiwis deserve,” McClay said.

It follows Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi’s visit to New Zealand last month, telling Luxon the New Zealand-China relationship is a “force for stability” in a turbulent world.

While Foreign Minister Winston Peters has just returned from the US, where he met US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, promising the US and New Zealand will work “even more closely” to uphold the international order through diplomatic, defence, and intelligence means.

Exports to China from New Zealand in the year to September dipped slightly to $19.3b, making up almost 22% of New Zealand’s total goods exports for 2023.