531 PI
Niu FM
PMN News

New Zealand's foreign affairs officials are working around the clock to try and secure a face-to-face with President Joe Biden but an expert says Prime Minister Christopher Luxon should be showing that he can work with whoever is in the White House.

Photo/supplied

Politics

NATO summit: PM in Washington amid Biden-Trump fallout

Christopher Luxon has been invited to the high-level military alliance meeting where officials are hoping he will get a chance to speak with the US President.

Christine Rovoi
Christine Rovoi
Published
10 July 2024, 12:14am
Share
Copy Link

Christopher Luxon must show he can work with both the Democratic and Republican parties in the United States if New Zealand wants a seat at the table and its voice heard.

That's the view of international relations expert Alexander Gillespie at the University of Waikato.

Luxon is in Washington DC this week- his first US visit as prime minister - to attend the NATO summit, meet with US politicians on Capitol Hill, and possibly President Joe Biden.

The American leader is under immense pressure following his "shaky" performance at the presidential debate with Donald Trump last week.

An NBC network poll on Tuesday showed Biden trailing Trump by up to two points since the president's debate struggles.

NATO, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization or North Atlantic Alliance, is the political and military alliance of 32 nations from Europe and North America. Its members are committed to protecting each other from any threat.

Gillespie told Pacific Mornings' William Terite there are many things to watch out for during Luxon's trip.

"Whether he gets a face-to-face meeting with Biden is the first thing that may or may not happen. Mr Biden, as we all know, is under a huge amount of pressure.

"The bigger thing for me is that New Zealand's one of a few countries invited to NATO's annual meeting - 75th - it is a time where we have got extreme tensions over the Ukraine war, concerns over China and the Middle-East.

"Point to note, New Zealand to the table and that means our voice will be heard.

"I think there will be a lot of conversations that you will not hear in public about the next steps in this debate because of the other countries that have been invited. If you're a member of NATO or it's invite only.

"Japan, South Korea, and Australia form part of a regional group. We're not linked by treaty, but our security concerns are increasingly intermeshed.

"If AUKUS were to happen, Japan and South Korea would be interested in joining AUKUS as well. And if they all joined at the same point, it would be a huge deal. It would take some of the heat off the retaliation from China.

"I expect the conversation to cover everything from interoperability through to new technologies like space and where we can work together in artificial intelligence.

Photo/NATO

"The technology of war is changing, the politics is changing and pretensions are rising and we have to face choices now that we've not faced in many generations."

Gillespie says Luxon needs to reach out to Trump's party because we have to be realistic about this.

It's a 50-50 chance that Biden's going to return to power come November, he adds.

"We have to prepare our country for the impact that will follow if Mr. Trump returns to the presidency. And that means being able to work with both sides.

"Talk to Mr. Biden, that would be great. If he has an opportunity, that would be fantastic. But the long-term security for our country right now means that we've got working relationships with both the Democrats and the Republicans."

On the geopolitical tensions between China and the US in the Pacific, Gillespie says it's a "huge talking point because this is where one of the changes in the presidency could occur.

"Under Mr Biden, there's been more American interaction in the Pacific because of what we're seeing with the Chinese influence.

"The question is whether Mr Trump will have that same continuity that Mr Biden has of filling the embassies, filling the consulates, making sure that enough aid comes through in sustainable development for the Pacific.

"There's a fair chance that Mr Trump could backtrack from some of those commitments."

He says a strong American, Australian, and Kiwi influence in the Pacific is needed.

"Mr Trump is sceptical about NATO, sceptical about bilateral relationships, and especially if you don't put the money on the table so that you equal what America wants. He's gonna want American money for American things.

"On the NATO question, he wants all friends and allies to put 2% of their budget towards the military. New Zealand, maybe 1.4.

"We're going to have to start thinking, do we put more money into it and then when it comes to the Pacific he's going to say well you guys have to put some money on the table as well.

"There's a risk here that the Biden-Trump debate could have strong implications for the Pacific and its security because any gap that you see now will be exploited by other countries interested in the region.:

On trade, Gilespie says Trump wants a 10 per cent import tariff on all foreign goods coming into America. And that's with friends.

"That's not just with countries he's got beef with. So, everyone is gonna have to reorient themselves very quickly.

"I'm more scared about Trump season two than Trump season one."

NATO summit ends on Friday. The 10 NATO nations with the largest militaries include the US, Turkey, France, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom, Greece, Spain, Poland and Romania.

Other member states include Albania, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Hungary, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Montenegro, Netherlands, North Macedonia, Norway, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden,