“Correct your wrong words,” China tells New Zealand

Sam Sachdeva

Wellington, July 15, 2018

The Chinese government has told New Zealand to “correct its wrong words” on the South China Sea, but Acting Prime Minister Winston Peters said that the Government intends to hold firm.

Peters also said that the Government is “not naive” as to the possible trade implications of its remarks, after Australian exporters faced delays at the Chinese border following its government’s conflict with Beijing.

Defence Policy Statement

The Government’s Strategic Defence Policy Statement, released last week, raised concerns about the security threat posed to New Zealand and the world order by ”an increasingly confident China.”

The document described the Asian superpower’s development model as “a liberalising economy absent liberal democracy.”

It also referred China’s expanded military presence in disputed areas of the South China Sea, saying the country had “determined not to engage with an international tribunal ruling on the status of sovereignty claims.”

Stern Representation

At a press conference in Beijing on Monday, China Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said the country had taken note of the defence policy statement and “lodged stern representations with New Zealand on the wrong remarks it has made on China.”

China would “unswervingly follow” its advocacy of socialism with Chinese characteristics, Hua said, acting as a contributor to global development and a champion of the international order.

“China’s development poses no threat to others. Instead, it will provide other countries around the globe with important opportunities.”

China’s construction of military installations in the South China Sea was “completely justified and legitimate,” and it would safeguard its territorial sovereignty while negotiating directly with affected countries to resolve the disputes.”

“We urge New Zealand to view the relevant issue in an objective way, correct its wrong words and deeds and contribute more to the mutual trust and cooperation between our two countries.”

New Zealand not naïve

Speaking to Newsroom on Tuesday, Peters said that the Government did not intend to resile from its comments.

“Well, just because you are in foreign affairs does not mean you should try to defy gravity – we know the South China Sea military build-up is coming from one country, all of the South China Sea neighbourhood knows that, so we are just making an observation that everyone is making.”

Peters said that he was unconcerned about possible trade reprisals from China, such as delays faced by Australian wine exporters, saying that New Zealand was operating in a “vastly different” global environment to even a month ago.

Trade delays

However, he acknowledged that “having stock held up on the wharves is not new,” such as a temporary hold on Kiwifruit exports into China, one month after Chinese officials warned Zespri of possible retaliation over a steel dumping investigation.

“Let’s put our cards on the table – we are not naive as to what happens here.”

If such trade delays were to occur, Peters said a diplomatic resolution would be preferable to countervailing measures given New Zealand’s size.

“There’s only so much we can do, but we’re not alone in this respect, countries should tread carefully no matter how big they are.”

The Government had been transparent about its foreign policy and advocacy for the international rules-based order both at home and abroad, he said.

“We have trading relations with China, we have a number of international cooperative enterprises going on with China, we work with China in the Pacific on occasions, it is a relationship which has been built up over the years but that doesn’t mean that we, how should I put it, lose our independent, sovereign voice.”

Belt and Road questions

During a March speech at the Lowy Institute, Peters said he regretted the speed with which the previous government had signed up to China’s Belt and Road Initiative, a trillion-dollar project aimed at increasing connectivity between the superpower and the rest of the world.

He told Newsroom that he had asked the Chinese government for more information about the project during his visit to Beijing in May.

“We don’t know what we’ll take forward or not take forward because we don’t know what it means and there is an acceptance by the Chinese that it’s a fair request from us and we are awaiting developments.”

While a memorandum of understanding between New Zealand and China said a detailed work plan should be developed within 18 months – a deadline coming up in September – Peters said the Government did not feel bound by its predecessor’s arrangements.

“When you look at it [the agreement], its words are without any substance, it’s not binding – it doesn’t require us to do anything.”

Sam Sachdeva is Foreign Affairs and Trade Editor of Newsroom, based on Wellington. Indian Newslink has published the above Report and Picture under a Special Agreement with www.newsroom.co.nz

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Photo Caption:

Acting Prime Minister Winston Peters says New Zealand cannot defy gravity’’ and withhold criticism of China on its activities in the South China Sea. Photo: Lynn Grieveson