Foreign relations of New Zealand
The country's major political parties have generally agreed on the broad outlines of foreign policy, and the government has been active in promoting free trade, nuclear disarmament, and arms control.
In 1835 a group of Northland chiefs, under the guidance of British resident James Busby, signed a declaration of independence, which was recognised by Britain.
The British Colonial Office, influenced by the missionaries and by reports that the independent New Zealand Company was planning to privately colonise the islands, sent naval captain William Hobson to negotiate a treaty.
Their heroism in the failed Gallipoli campaign made their sacrifices iconic in New Zealand memory, and secured the psychological independence of the nation.
What had been the Empire's most loyal Dominion became a dissenter as it opposed efforts the first and second British Labour governments to trust the League's framework of arbitration and collective security agreements.
They made national security a high priority, were sceptical of international institutions such as the League, and showed no interest on the questions of self-determination, democracy, and human rights.
The Fall of Singapore during World War II made New Zealand realise that she could no longer rely on Britain to defend the British Empire.
Despite the 1985 rupture in the ANZUS military alliance, New Zealand has maintained good working relations with the United States and Australia on a broad array of international issues.
However, growing global trade and other international economic events have made New Zealanders increasingly aware of their country's dependence on unstable overseas markets.
[11] New Zealand governments strongly advocate free trade, especially in agricultural products, and the country belongs to the Cairns group of nations in the WTO.
New Zealand is a "dialogue partner" with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), a member of the East Asia Summit and an active participant in APEC.
ABEDA, ANZUS (U.S. suspended security obligations to NZ on 11 August 1986), APEC, ARF (dialogue partner), AsDB, ASEAN (dialogue partner), Australia Group, Commonwealth, CP, EBRD, ESCAP, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, NAM (guest), NSG, OECD, OPCW, PCA, PIF, Sparteca, SPC, UN, UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMIK, UNMISET, UNMOP, UNTSO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO[12] New Zealand was a founding member of the United Nations in 1945, and was in the first set of rotating non-permanent members of the United Nations Security Council.
McGraw argues that, "Probably the greatest foreign policy achievement of [Helen] Clark's [1999–2008] term was the conclusion of a free trade agreement with China.
The New Zealand Defence Force is small compared to many other countries and its lacks air combat capability, although its army is generally regarded as very professional.
In February 2021 the MFAT confirmed granting export permits for military equipment to be sold to the Armed Forces of Saudi Arabia in the years 2016 and 2018, respectively.
Following the April and May 2015 Nepal earthquake, the New Zealand Government sent an initial $1 million in humanitarian aid, and has mobilized 45 urban search and rescue technicians.
In 1972, as an act of defiance and protest the Kirk government sent two of its navy frigates, HMNZS Canterbury and Otago into the Moruroa test zone area.
"Rather than trying to change each other's minds on the nuclear issue, which is a bit of a relic, I think we should focus on things we can make work," he told the Australian Financial Review.
[36] Relations between France and New Zealand were strained for two short periods in the 1980s and 1990s over the French nuclear tests at Moruroa and the bombing of the Rainbow Warrior in Auckland harbour.
The latter was widely regarded as an act of state terrorism against New Zealand's sovereignty and was ordered by then French President François Mitterrand, although he denied any involvement at the time.
Foreign Affairs Minister Gerry Brownlee said the treaty is "consistent with New Zealand's long-standing commitment to international nuclear disarmament efforts".
[240] John Key confirmed that India and New Zealand have continued to work "scoping out" the possibility of a free trade agreement but said with caution that in any case "these things take time".
[245] The NZ International Business Forum, established in 2006 by major export-focused companies in New Zealand, has as one of its key goals negotiations for a free trade agreement with Japan.
[246] New Zealand Parliament sends condolences to the people of Japan, and the government donated $2 million to the Japanese Red Cross Society to support relief efforts.
[279] Reidar Sveaas, director of P&O Maritime Ltd. and honorary consul to Auckland said in 2000 that excellent opportunities existed for New Zealand to trade with the world's second largest oil-producing country, Norway.
[282] New Zealand joined 11 other countries in 2006 in delivering a formal diplomatic protest to the Norwegian Foreign Ministry in Oslo over Norway's plans to increase its whaling activities.
Both countries share common membership of the Commonwealth, CPTPP, Five Eyes, the Five Power Defence Arrangements, OECD, the UKUSA Agreement, and the World Trade Organization.
[294] Historically, some industries, such as dairying, a major economic factor in the former colony, had even more dominant trade links, with 80–100% of all cheese and butter exports going to Britain from around 1890 to 1940.
Angry at this action the New Zealand government increased trade sanctions against the country while both major political parties saying the expulsion was outrageous and unacceptable.
[308] In March 2015, the New Zealand journalists Nicky Hager and Ryan Gallagher reported that the signals intelligence agency, the Government Communications Security Bureau (GCSB), was using the internet mass surveillance system XKeyscore to tap email communications from several senior Solomon Islands government ministers, the Solomons Islands Truth and Reconciliation Commission, and anti-corruption campaigner Benjamin Afuga.
