VZCZCXRO7200
RR RUEHDT RUEHPB
DE RUEHWL #0042/01 0501937
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 191937Z FEB 09
FM AMEMBASSY WELLINGTON
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 5748
INFO RUEHNZ/AMCONSUL AUCKLAND 1915
RUEHBY/AMEMBASSY CANBERRA 5450
RUEHAP/AMEMBASSY APIA 0537
RUEHDN/AMCONSUL SYDNEY 0799
RUCNARF/ASEAN REGIONAL FORUM COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 WELLINGTON 000042 
 
SIPDIS 
SENSITIVE 
 
STATE FOR STATE FOR EAP/ANP 
PACOM FOR J01E/J2/J233/J5/SJFHQ 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PHUM KDEM NZ
SUBJECT:  FORMER PM HELEN CLARK'S LEGACY IN ASIAN FOREIGN POLICY 
 
WELLINGTON 00000042  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
¶1.  (U)  Summary.  In a wide-ranging historical look at New 
Zealand's evolving foreign policy towards Asia over the last half 
century before a select group hosted by the Asia Forum, former PM 
Clark discussed her legacy.  She characterized New Zealand's 
emphasis post-World War II as security oriented but that the rise of 
Asian economies in the last twenty years has shifted the focus to 
regional economic integration with an emphasis on trade agreements. 
She said that the 2008 FTA with China affirmed New Zealand's 
recognition of China's relevance in Asia, but it remains a challenge 
to convince the New Zealand public -- particularly the young -- that 
Asia is as important as Australia, Europe and North America to New 
Zealand's future.  End Summary. 
 
Helen Clark Looks Back 
---------------------- 
 
¶2.  (U)  On February 18 and before a small audience of invited 
members of the diplomatic corps, business and academic communities, 
Asia Forum hosted former PM Helen Clark to discuss her legacy on New 
Zealand's Asian foreign policy.  Clark opened her remarks by 
commenting the Secretary of State Clinton's first trip overseas to 
northeast Asia was evidence of renewed USG interest in Asia.  She 
then noted that New Zealand's post-colonial presence in Asia was as 
a "displaced piece of the jigsaw," with emphasis squarely on New 
Zealand's ties to Europe and Australia.  The rise of Japan pre-World 
War II was the first time New Zealand's focus shifted to 
developments in Asia.  In the post-World War II era, New Zealand's 
soldiers participated in military campaigns in Korea, Malaysia, and 
Vietnam as New Zealand operated under the security blanket of the 
United States and SEATO. 
 
¶3.  (U)  In the 1970s, Britain joined the European Union, and that 
affected New Zealand and how it viewed its place in the world, noted 
Clark.  With the rise of the economies in Japan, Korea, Thailand, 
Singapore, followed by Vietnam and China, New Zealand began to 
refocus on the transitions underway in Asia.  Prior to 1991, 
however, Asia largely remained a military issue, said Clark; South 
Asia was hardly mentioned in foreign policy circles other than 
within the larger sphere of Commonwealth issues in which New Zealand 
was engaged.  ASEAN changed the security dimension and New Zealand 
became a dialogue partner, continued Clark. 
 
¶4.  (U)  The former PM credited APEC during the period 1989-1993, 
however, with helping New Zealand learn about Asia.  She also 
singled out then-Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Don McKinnon 
for spearheading the Asia 2000 conference in 1994 as a watershed 
event highlighting the growing economic opportunities in the Asia 
Pacific region.  The Asian financial crisis in 1998 discouraged New 
Zealand businesses, but Clark said that, as Prime Minister, she was 
determined to refocus on Asian business opportunities and signed an 
FTA with Singapore in 2000 -- New Zealand's first major trade deal 
since the 1983 Cooperative Economic Relationship (CER) agreement 
with Australia. 
 
¶5.  (U)  The events of 9/11 in 2001 once again refocused the world's 
attention and Clark acknowledged that she did not pick up the ball 
again until after the 2002 New Zealand elections.  Clark noted that 
she promoted enhanced engagement in Asia in her 2003 remarks to 
APEC.  Australia and New Zealand held a 30-year commemorative summit 
with ASEAN at the end of 2004, she added, with New Zealand acceding 
to the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation (TAC) as a signal of GNZ 
seriousness to engage more fully with ASEAN. 
 
¶6.  (U)  New Zealand's current foreign policy towards Asia has free 
trade agreements as a main discussion point, but the underlying 
theme is broader relationship building in the region.  Topics beyond 
trade and economics center on tourism, energy, migration, and New 
Zealand's promotion of interfaith dialogue as a counterpoint to 
radicalism in the region, said Clark.  The future challenge for New 
Zealand is to broaden the understanding and enthusiasm for Asia 
among the general public.  The GNZ and foreign policy experts 
understand how important Asia is to New Zealand's future but the 
wider population -- particularly the youth -- are still not "Asia 
literate" and do not see Asia on the same level with New Zealand's 
relations with Australia, Europe and North America.  Clark credited 
the support for her 2008 FTA signing with China as demonstrating 
that New Zealanders understand China's importance and relevance as a 
growing power.  Beyond China, she added, it remains an uphill 
struggle to make New Zealanders "Asia literate." 
 
¶7.  (U)  During a lively question/answer period, Clark was asked how 
New Zealand was viewed in Asia and why NZ foreign policy was so 
successful.  The former PM responded that New Zealand is seen as an 
honest broker that is not carrying the brief for anyone else and 
that New Zealand speaks its own mind -- a clear reference to New 
 
WELLINGTON 00000042  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
Zealand's independent foreign policy of which Clark was one of the 
architects.  When asked if New Zealand could play more of a 
mediating role in conflict areas in Asia, Clark responded that it is 
a matter of financing.  Norway has been successful as a broker in 
conflict zones such as Timor Leste and the Middle East, she noted, 
because Norway has a long history of Foreign Ministry capacity to 
mediate and negotiate.  Although Clark gave New Zealand's Foreign 
Ministry high marks for carrying out its mission during her time in 
government over the past three decades, she noted that it is not as 
well resourced as MFAT's counterpart in Oslo. 
 
¶8.  (U)  Asked about Australian PM Rudd's proposed Asia Pacific 
community, Clark opined that building a European-style community in 
East Asia would not be as easy an exercise given the broad 
political, cultural, and economic differences in Asia.  The European 
model was based on democracy, respect for human rights, rule of law 
and governance issues.  Asian political systems are very different, 
said Clark, who nevertheless said that New Zealand would watch with 
interest the reaction to the Rudd proposal within the region. 
Moving to the financial crisis and a question about addressing 
reform of international financial institutions, Clark said she was 
interested in the idea of an Economic Security Council, possibly at 
the UN, that would humanize globalization and the address/mitigate 
the potential ripple effects of major financial crises. 
 
¶9.  (U)  On North Korea, Clark maintained that New Zealand should 
continue to support the Six Party Talks and credited China for the 
success of the Six Party Talks.  She noted that New Zealand had 
promised heavy fuel oil if North Korea lived up to its commitments 
under the Talks.  New Zealand was not playing a direct role in the 
talks with North Korea, said Clark, but that the GNZ was being 
supportive, including the 2007 visit to North Korea by former FM 
Winston Peters. 
 
¶10.  (SBU)  Comment:  Clark's remarks offered little new or 
unexpected; she was clearly in her element speaking with members of 
the diplomatic corps, foreign policy experts from academia, and 
those with business interests in Asia.  She made a quick aside 
noting that she had opposed the war in Vietnam as a student, and 
credited a former high school teacher as well as prominent New 
Zealand anti-nuclear activist Kate Dewes with helping to shape her 
views on Asia and politics in general.  End Comment.