Will’s Word: Ex-PMs attend China’s WWII commemoration, but was it the right move?

Is it just me, or is it a bit odd seeing two of our former Prime Ministers sitting in a row at a Chinese military parade? Sure, it was to mark the end of World War II, but frankly, to me at least, it looked more like a flex of tanks, warplanes and missiles than a celebration of peace.

Helen Clark has been quick to say it was “a line call”. John Key hasn't really weighed in on it, but the photos say plenty. Both of them shaking hands with China’s President Xi Jinping, not far from Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong Un.

It's all rather odd, isn't it? Clark reckons Xi and Key were there in a private capacity, not representing New Zealand - fair enough, do what you want to do in your own private time - and it was more about acknowledging the economic ties they helped build with China.

But this is where things get a bit uncomfortable for me. When you're sitting there while the war machines roll past, it doesn't say to me, “hey, we're here for trade”. The optics are, “we're okay with this show of force”.

That is the uncomfortable bit, because we as New Zealanders pride ourselves on being nuclear-free, peace-loving, and independent. Yet, there are our old leaders clapping along as fighter jets roar overhead.

Engagement with China? Sure, I'm not against that. I think that's great. But I just don't understand why we should be sitting and watching war machines as they roll past. It's something that is deeply, deeply troubling to me.

That's Will's Word.

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