VZCZCXRO7493
RR RUEHDBU RUEHPW RUEHSL
DE RUEHWL #0287/01 2730219
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 300218Z SEP 09
FM AMEMBASSY WELLINGTON
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0153
INFO AFGHANISTAN COLLECTIVE
RHEHAAA/NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL WASHINGTON DC
RHHMUNA/USPACOM HONOLULU HI
RHMFISS/JOINT STAFF WASHINGTON DC
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHINGTON DC
RUEHBUL/AMEMBASSY KABUL 0012
RUEHBY/AMEMBASSY CANBERRA 0040
RUEHDN/AMCONSUL SYDNEY 0034
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 WELLINGTON 000287 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL ETRD ECON NZ AF PGOV MARR XV EAID
SUBJECT: Foreign Minister on U.S. Relationship, Trade, Afghanistan 
and the Pacific Island Region 
 
¶1.  (SBU) Summary.  During a September 26 introductory call, 
Foreign Minister Murray McCully warmly welcomed the Charge and 
emphasized that his door is always open for future meetings. 
McCully said the New Zealand Government puts a "huge priority" on 
building the relationship with the U.S., and he plans to build the 
relationship in a practical manner outside the spotlight of the New 
Zealand media.  Regarding the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), New 
Zealand is eagerly awaiting the results of the U.S. 
Administration's trade policy review but will not put pressure on 
the USG to move forward on the TPP.  On Afghanistan, the Foreign 
Minister said the August 30 McChrystal assessment had "played into 
the hands of government opponents" since it called for more 
resources just when New Zealand had decided to redeploy the Special 
Air Service (SAS).  McCully added that New Zealand is focusing its 
efforts on capacity building in Bamyan Province.  Turning to New 
Zealand's Pacific island neighbors, McCully said New Zealand has a 
special relation with Pacific island nations because of the large 
population of Pacific Islanders living in the country.  This gives 
New Zealand "soft power", which it hopes to use in concert with the 
U.S. to build the region.  End Summary. 
 
 
 
Wanting to Be Seen as Reliable, Serious, and Trustworthy 
 
--------------------------------------------- ---------------------- 
--- 
 
¶2.  (SBU) McCully iterated that he prefers to focus on the 
substance of the bilateral relationship with the U.S. and not build 
the relationship merely to "create media events" as politicians had 
done in the past.  He added that he wants to be more "practical" in 
how the relationship is moved forward and that "we want you to see 
us as reliable, serious, and trustworthy."   In this vein, he added 
that TV NZ Political Editor Guyon Espiner's planned interview on 
October 6 with Assistant Secretary Kurt Campbell might include a 
question about the A4 Skyhawk fighter jet issue; however, the New 
Zealand Government is in no way pointing him in this direction and 
wants to more forward quietly with the issue. 
 
 
 
We Eagerly Await the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) with the U.S. 
 
--------------------------------------------- ---------------------- 
---------------- 
 
¶3.  (SBU) The New Zealand Government is eagerly awaiting the 
outcome of the U.S. review of its trade policy and hopes to move 
forward with TPP talks said McCully.   However, he added that he 
"fully understands the U.S. system needs to go thought the trade 
review process," and New Zealand will be careful not to apply any 
pressure to the U.S. 
 
 
 
Politically in a Difficult Spot on Afghanistan 
 
--------------------------------------------- ----------- 
 
¶4.  (SBU) The Foreign Minister said the Afghanistan election has 
created a more "challenging situation there", and his past 
experience does not give him too much hope with the reelection of 
Karzai.  He emphasized that New Zealand has been watching with 
apprehension how the August 30 McChrystal assessment on Afghanistan 
has played out, noting it has "played into the hands of government 
opponents" in New Zealand.  The McChrystal report calls for more 
resources "just when we have made a new commitment" said McCully. 
This is "not helpful" since we want to have a chance to see how the 
surge works before asking for more commitment.   The Foreign 
Minister, however, assured that the New Zealand Government made a 
decision regarding its military contribution that "it is 
comfortable with."  The country has over 1 million New Zealanders 
abroad, and if there is trouble somewhere in the world, one of them 
will inevitably be affected.  New Zealand has a "clear concept of 
the necessity to eliminate the threat of terror," but managing the 
politics of the decision to send troops is "not straight forward." 
It is "unfortunate that our opponents who initially deployed the 
 
WELLINGTON 00000287  002 OF 002 
 
 
Special Air Service (SAS) have now opposed redeployment," and 
"there are signs they intend to make it a more political issue" 
said McCully.  Although the Charge emphasized the McChrystal report 
was not a call for addition New Zealand resources, McCully replied 
that it is not how it has played out in New Zealand media. 
McCully continued by saying New Zealand is focusing its efforts on 
capacity building of the police in Bamyan Province, and it also has 
ambitions to do more capacity building in Bamyan on agriculture and 
education with "more development people on the ground." 
 
 
 
New Zealand Has a Unique Role to Play in the Pacific 
 
--------------------------------------------- --------------------- 
 
¶5.  (SBU) According to McCully, New Zealand has a special relation 
with Pacific island nations and hence can make a unique 
contribution to building the region.  Outsiders often lump New 
Zealand and Australia together in regional responsibilities, but 
what New Zealand can contribute is quite different from Australia. 
Australia has "the resources to throw at problems" that New Zealand 
does not have.  However, New Zealand is more "interwoven" with the 
Pacific islands since 6 percent of New Zealand's population comes 
from the area, and that percentage is expected to rise to 10 
percent by 2030.  These Pacific islanders all have connections with 
their native countries and send large remittances and other support 
to family members living there.  McCully remarked that New Zealand 
can use this to provide "soft power" in the region and that New 
Zealand also views itself as a firm partner with the U.S. in 
building these countries.  The Foreign Minister noted that he 
himself had invested a great deal of effort in developing a 
relationship with Pacific island countries, personally visiting 
Niue, Tonga, Samoa, PNG, Tuvalu, and many others since taking 
office.  He added that New Zealand has intensified its development 
assistance programs to these countries and has a "stronger sense of 
its purpose" in the region.  In Polynesia alone, New Zealand has 
boosted its development funding by a third this year.  We are 
"small and nimble with something to contribute," and "we hope the 
U.S. can be a partner with us in this effort" said McCully. 
CLARKE