Stephen Hoadley: NZ privileged to be involved at NATO Summit

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon is preparing to meet with international leaders at the NATO Summit. 

Auckland University international relations expert Stephen Hoadley says it's significant for New Zealand to be included in the NATO Summit as the Government moves closer to an alliance. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
I mean, it's Sir Christopherlexidas heading to the United States
this week. You'll take part of the NATO summit to
meet with members of the US administration. The question is
what do we want? What will we get out of it?
Associate Professor of Politics at International Relations at Oka University
is Stephen Hadley. Hello Stephen, Good morning Andrew. We're not
a member of NATO's a house significance is our invitation
to visit.

Speaker 2 (00:20):
Well, it is part of a group of four called
the Indo Pacific Four. It includes Japan, South Korea, Australia
and ourselves. So we are guests, as it were, or observers.
We're not obligated to go to war. We are, however,
privileged to listen to the deliberations, to meet the top
people at NATO and to keep well informed about what's

(00:42):
happening in the European theater.

Speaker 1 (00:44):
But they're likely to be very nice to us in
case they have to ask us to go to war.

Speaker 2 (00:49):
Well, no, that's our decision. To make an independent foreign
policy means every government in NATO also makes its own decision.
There's no compulsion to go to war, and they have
to agree one by one to do whatever they think
is appropriate.

Speaker 1 (01:04):
What is your feeling of what is going to be discussed,
the priorities of it. I mean we can name some
right off the bat, you know, the South China Sea
and also of course Ukraine it's in Gaza. What do
you think they're going to be talking about.

Speaker 2 (01:15):
Well, I think you've hit it on the head. All
of those are important topics. There's a crowded agenda. There's
a lot of detail work as well, like who's going
to contribute, what, how to coordinate with each other, what
about future financing? How much are they going to put
into future defense for themselves and also for Ukraine and
also for the Indo Pacific. So the agenda is not

(01:37):
set by New Zealand. New Zealand will listen politely and
maybe could ask a question or two at the margins
of the discussion. But yeah, all those topics are going
to be front and center. I don't think GASA will
be discussed. That's really an issue between the United States
and Israel. NATO is not directly engaged, all right.

Speaker 1 (01:56):
He's also going to see Apple the company. Now, what
is Christopher Luxan having to get out of that?

Speaker 2 (02:01):
Do you think look investment the Christopher Luxeon is New
Zealand's number one salesman. Now you just talked to Simeon Brown.
He's going to have to pay for those roads. And
there's a lot of other things that New Zealand needs
to pay for by exports, by investment, by tourism, by security,
and Luxeon's job and his entourage. Membery. He's got some

(02:22):
very high powered officials in the United States, Beidan Corey,
Ambassador Rosemary Banks, one of the top diplomats. New Zealand
has to entract American investment down to New Zealand. Now, remember,
a lot of American firms are going out of China.
China has become too restrictive, too intrusive, and a lot
of firms are disvesting or pausing. And those that maybe

(02:46):
some of that investment money will come New Zealand's way.
Lux wants to make sure that Apple and its subsidiaries
and any other company interested is welcome.

Speaker 1 (02:56):
Stephen Hordley, Associate Profession of Politics and International Relations into this.
Thank you so much for your time. For more from
the Mic Asking Breakfast, listen live to News Talks it
B from six am weekdays, or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio,