Māori vulnerable to US-China fallout in the Pacific, warns Shane Jones
Friday, 15 July 2022
Former NZ First and Labour MP Shane Jones says the tug-of-war between China and the United States in the Pacific will impact Aotearoa and in particular Māori.
His comments come amid the internal fallout at the Pacific Islands Forum over the group’s leadership and China’s growing influence in the region.
Both Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Foreign Affairs Minister Nanaia Mahuta attended the forum meeting in Fiji this week, while Minister for Pacific Peoples Aupito William Sio was at the pre-summit ministerial.
The leaders endorsed the 2050 strategy for the Blue Pacific on Thursday and Mahuta said this was “testament to the region’s commitment to stay connected, free, safe and prosperous”.
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Representatives from the 15 forum countries and 21 international partners gathered in Suva from July 11-14. The leaders launched the 2050 strategy for the Blue Pacific which plans to address key issues such as the “runaway climate crisis, social and economic challenges, slow economic growth and geopolitical competition”.
The Leaders Forum was dealt a blow when Kiribati announced it was withdrawing its support of the regional body over concerns about the leadership.
Jones said Aotearoa relies heavily on trade with China and the government should tread carefully on any matters that will affect our economic outlook.
New Zealand should not speak internationally about China’s internal matters or matters relating to the ruling Communist Party, said the former minister for infrastructure, forestry and regional economic development.
“Forty per cent of New Zealand exports head to China annually, and Māori are hugely exposed in the sectors of forestry, meat, to a certain extent milk, and a lot of the assets we own by dint of Treaty settlement or the historical assets we have developed through incorporations and various other hapū initiatives.
“Māori are deeply dependent on New Zealand’s ongoing access to the Chinese market.”
Jones said Māori share many of the issues confronting their Pasifika whānau.
“They have youthful populations with many of them struggling to maintain their languages,” he said. “And while they may have the resources, they lack the capital to turn them into income and jobs.”
Māori trust-based dairy business Miraka in Taupō uses renewable geothermal energy to power its factory at Mokai. Miraka this week announced it was seeking more suppliers for its products which are in high demand.
Chief executive Karl Gradon said the company was looking to China to boost its brand. Miraka sources milk from about 100 farms in the central North Island, but Gradon said demand is growing.
“We simply can't keep up. We're moving into areas such as consumer goods with our partners using their brands, and we're privileged to work with some of the most known brands in China and other parts of the world.”
Gradon said they paid up to 20 cents per kilogram of milk solids (more than Fonterra) and Miraka’s low carbon footprint would help attract new farmers.
According to China’s General Administration of Customs, the country’s foreign trade still faces instabilities and uncertain factors even as trade growth in May and June reversed the declining trend in April.
Customs' spokesperson Li Kuiwen told a news conference in Beijing on Wednesday that foreign trade is expected to achieve stable growth from government support.
The Pacific Islands Forum is still reeling from the Kiribati withdrawal, and overshadowed by China’s efforts to extend its influence in the region – highlighted by Beijing’s recent security deal with the Solomon Islands and trade agreements with other island states.
New Zealand’s Defence Minister Peeni Henare said the Pacific has sovereign nations, and “they are capable of making their own decisions about co-operation arrangements with China.
'Our job is to support them, to ensure they make strong decisions for themselves, and we will continue to maintain that policy. We can't be paternalistic.'
Henare was at the recent international security summit, Shangri-La Dialogue, in Singapore and met with his Chinese counterpart Wei Fenghe.
'We support independence. We support sovereign nations and sovereign states, like the many in the Pacific,” Henare said.
“In our dialogue with them [China], they were pushing that they come in peace, that they too want to look towards security and sustainability, prosperity across the Pacific.'
The United States has promised it will implement stronger policies to increase its involvement in the Pacific.
Vice President Kamala Harris told the Pacific Islands Forum leaders on Wednesday that the US aimed to establish embassies in Kiribati and Tonga, and would give $60 million to the Forum Fisheries Agency. She also called for unity against 'bad actors'.
Massey University security studies senior lecturer Anna Powles said Washington’s overture was a calculated attempt to counter China's growing presence in the Pacific.
'The US has a vested interest in re-engaging with the Pacific because of geostrategic competition and because of concerns about the nature and extent of China's influence in the Pacific,” she said.
“Harris’ reference to a 'time when we have bad actors, we must stay united', clearly is about upholding the rules-based order.'
The Commonwealth also reaffirmed its long-standing relationship with the Pacific. Secretary-General Patricia Scotland, who was at the Suva summit, welcomed the expanded American engagement in the region.
The Pacific Islands Forum nations include Australia, Cook Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Nauru, New Zealand, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Marshall Islands, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu.