Analysis: New Zealand’s attendance at a NATO summit this week comes at a crucial time, writes UK and Europe correspondent Mei Heron.
It might be a military alliance based on the other side of the world, but what the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) does and how it acts has major implications for New Zealand.
This is why it’s so important that New Zealand is in Brussels for this week’s NATO Foreign Affairs summit.
Foreign Minister Winston Peters is attending the two-day meeting at a hugely symbolic time for NATO, as it marks 75 years since it was established in the aftermath of World War II.
NATO has grown to a powerful beast over those 75 years, with billions of dollars’ worth of artillery at its disposal and around 3.5 million soldiers between its 32 member states.
It's been recently invigorated by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which has reminded everyone a full-scale war in Europe can still happen in modern times.
But while NATO prioritises the security of the Euro-Atlantic region first and foremost, it has also singled out China’s ambitions and policies as a major threat, specifically mentioning the growing cooperation between China and Russia.
Therefore, it’s also now concerned about China’s rise and influence in the Indo-Pacific region.
This is where New Zealand comes in.
Since being invited to their first NATO summit in 2022, the Indo-Pacific Four (IP4) - Australia, Japan, the Republic of Korea, and New Zealand - have been regularly attending events in a bid to strengthen ties across a whole range of policies.
This week’s summit is expected to focus on new technologies as well as cyber defence, which is poignant following the recent accusations a China-backed group targeted New Zealand government entities in cyber-attacks in 2021.
Peters will have plenty of bilateral meetings with other countries this week too, where he will no doubt attempt to “raise the energy New Zealand brings to key relationships” as promised in the Government’s latest quarterly plan.
But given the world’s increasingly complex security environment, this is also an important time for New Zealand to have a front-row seat to the inner workings of the world’s biggest military alliance.
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