Growing pains in Asia - and what it means for New Zealand

Instability in Asia would have an impact on New Zealand and we should be paying more attention to how changes there could affect our future prosperity and security, a new report says.

The New Zealand National Forum of the Council for Security Cooperation in the Asia Pacific (CSCAP:NZ) has released Projecting our Voice, which examines the changes in power balances within Asia, the way the region’s organisations are responding—and what it means for New Zealand.

"Asian countries will shape the world of the 21st century in a way they have not done in New Zealand’s recent history," states the report.

"In particular, China's growing power is creating both opportunity and uncertainty. The region shows staggering economic growth, but it also contains unresolved disputes including some potentially serious fracture points," says Professor Robert Ayson, Director of Victoria University's Centre for Strategic Studies.

The report shows New Zealand’s prosperity is increasingly derived from Asia, and New Zealanders tend to look at our relationships there from the perspective of what we can earn.

"That is important. But a similar effort is needed to understand the political and security preoccupations in Asia, because these could have a significant impact on New Zealand's interests in future," says Professor Ayson.

"As Asia's influence grows, New Zealand needs more than ever to have broadly based relationships with countries in Asia. New Zealand's voice in the region needs to reflect clear understandings of our interests in Asia, the intersection between domestic and international policy and an astute appreciation of how insecurity in Asia could affect us," he says.

The report includes a series of recommendations for New Zealand’s future policy towards the region.

"We hope this report will open a debate about the role of security issues in New Zealand's relations with Asia", Professor Ayson says. "We are keen to get people's feedback and plan to publish significant reactions as part of an ongoing debate."

CSCAP:NZ is a national forum of academics and other experts on security issues from throughout New Zealand. It is hosted by the Centre for Strategic Studies at Victoria University.

The full report can be read on the website of the Centre for Strategic Studies at http://bit.ly/pALbvC and http://www.asianz.org.nz/our-work/track-ii/opinions-and-essays/projecting-voice.

Feedback on the report can be sent by email to jocelyn.woodley@vuw.ac.nz.