‘While New Zealand continues to harp on its western principles of democracy and stands fast on its moral high ground with no consideration of socio-cultural and other complex historical realities in Fiji, there are any number of Asian countries waiting..'


New Zealand has long prided itself as a friend of the tiny islands states and a first world nation that has a collective understanding of the islands region better than any other. Some months ago, a senior United States’ State Department official visiting Wellington said the United States needed “New Zealand’s eyes” to look at and understand the Pacific islands.

That reputation, however, has come into question following its ill-conceived pronouncements and the embarrassingly flip-flop stands it has taken on at least a couple of occasions following late last year’s developments in Fiji.

It was the first nation to slap a range of sanctions against the country—from banning travel of those involved in the coup, the interim government and their families to suspending Fiji from its recently announced seasonal migration scheme. Several of these sanctions will hit Fiji citizens who had little do with whatever happened in their country.

It also sought to ban Fiji’s participation in the International Rugby Board-sanctioned international sevens rugby tournament this year. But then it quickly backed out because if it pushed that line too hard, it risked the event being shifted out of New Zealand. That was the first flip-flop—one that smacked of complete self-interest.

It then went all out to convince the United Nations (UN) to cut out the Fiji military’s soldiers from its global peacekeeping force on the grounds that a force that snatched power from its own government had no moral right to keep peace elsewhere.

But Prime Minister Helen Clark quickly abandoned that moral high ground when the UN took no heed of New Zealand’s objections and went ahead with its plans to deploy Fijian soldiers.

The UN was too hard pressed and needed the personnel urgently, is the argument she used to defend herself when the Opposition asked her reaction to the UN’s decision to go ahead with the deployment. That was another flip-flop that came in for much criticism from several quarters.

Last month, its travel ban was extended to civil servants in the interim administration. A recently appointed advisor in the Interim Prime Minister’s Office was prevented from travelling to join his family in New Zealand. This action prompted a spate of statements and counter-statements from the two countries and at the time of writing, all indications are that diplomatic relations between the two close neighbours are clearly worsening.

New Zealand Foreign Minister, Winston Peters’ poor and undiplomatic choice of words hasn’t helped either, calling Fiji’s threat to retaliate “stupid”. Peters’ and his prime minister’s progressively hardening stance has put the long and friendly relationship between the two countries at grave risk, while exposing New Zealand’s unwillingness to consider the ground realities in Fiji—which in turn not only betrays its lack of deep knowledge of the Pacific states it claims it has, but also poor judgment of the possible geopolitical and economic outcomes of such a stance.

For one, Fiji’s interim administration has already hinted at retaliatory measures directed at New Zealand’s considerable expatriate professionals in Fiji. If that indeed eventuates, New Zealand will likely use economic counter measures designed to hurt Fiji’s economy.

New Zealand needs to do a reality check and stop the slide in the two countries’ relationship. Fiji happens to be one of New Zealand’s biggest trading partners with over NZ$350 million worth of annual exports and about NZ$50 million in imports. There is far more at stake for New Zealand business in Fiji than the other way round.   

While New Zealand continues to harp on its western principles of democracy and stands fast on its moral high ground with no consideration of socio-cultural and other complex historical realities in Fiji, there are any number of Asian countries waiting in the wings to displace Australia and New Zealand’s long influence in the Pacific islands with a range of alluring enticements. And, unlike New Zealand, all these nations have been silent on the unfolding developments in Fiji.

Fiji’s interim administration has already taken the first steps on moving towards the Asian powers. Next month, a delegation of top decision-makers is expected to visit China, Malaysia, Singapore and India in a bid to invite them over to invest in Fiji and partner with them.

Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer’s belief that China will not respond to Fiji’s future aid proposals is now echoed by Helen Clark’s administration. China does not need advise from Australia and New Zealand about what it needs to do in the Pacific—its actions will be dictated solely by its own interests; and it knows if it hesitates, there will always be Taiwan to take its place.

New Zealand’s increasingly untenable stand will only propel Fiji—as well as much of the other Pacific islands—northward. The drift has been happening in recent years and will only accelerate in the coming months.

New Zealand needs to get real and acknowledge the fact that the interim administration is now a fact of life and must find ways and means of working with it to restore democracy in the medium term—something the interim administration has always been alluding to.

It must take another look at its hard stand—if not or any other reason, purely from the point of view of its own economic and geopolitical interests in the region.

Meanwhile, as it discovers New Zealand’s tunnel vision on Fiji, the United States will soon have to turn to look for a new pair of eyes to view the Pacific.