War drums and sabre rattling: Christopher Luxon lays groundwork for major Defence spend-up

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon beats a drum at the State Gardens in Hanoi during his trade mission to Vietnam. Photo / Giles Dexter

• Prime Minister Christopher Luxon warned of rising conflict risks in the Asia-Pacific region at the Asean summit.
• He’s signed a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership agreement with the Vietnamese Government.
• Luxon says New Zealand will boost its Defence spending – but won’t say by how much.

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon is citing a global shift “from rules to power, from economics to security” as a key foundation of his impending major uplift in Defence Force spending.

“We are, without doubt, in a much more contested part of the world with a lot more geopolitical competition and we’re certainly no longer in a benign environment,” he told media in Hanoi.

Luxon is also taking a much more forthright approach to a more contested part of the world, yesterday announcing in Hanoi that he wants to see New Zealand’s military develop a stronger presence in the South China Sea.

“One of the things we have discussed is the possibility of having a Royal New Zealand Navy vessel visit Vietnam later this year,” he said last night.

There is much tension in that area of the world, such as ongoing disputes between China and the Philippines, and between China and Taiwan.

Luxon said: “[New Zealand and Vietnam’s] co-operation extends to many areas, including maritime issues ... and also includes a strong defence and security focus.”

“New Zealand and Vietnam share similar goals in this regard: a stable, secure and peaceful Indo-Pacific that delivers for our prosperity and collective security.”

Meanwhile, the Defence Force has confirmed the three Chinese ships off the coast of Australia yesterday moved inside the Australian exclusive economic zone.

Despite a trip to China to meet with China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi, Foreign Minister Winston Peters has still yet to be informed of the motives of the vessels in the Tasman Sea.

Luxon’s plans to send Kiwi Navy ships into the South China Sea was part of the new Comprehensive Strategic Partnership agreement signed with Vietnam this week.

New Zealand is one of just 10 countries in the world to have such an agreement.

And it comes as the Government gears up for a major defence spending announcement, with the release of the highly anticipated Defence Capability Plan.

The plan is the blueprint for the next 15 years of military spending in New Zealand, including asset upgrades, personnel spending and its strategic direction.

Defence Minister Judith Collins said New Zealanders can expect the plan to show significant increases in overall spending.

And, speaking to media in Hanoi, Luxon echoed her sentiment.

“With our Defence capability plan there is going to be no surprise: We’re going to be spending more on Defence,” he said.

“All three parties in the coalition believe this is the right course of action, to back up our values with actual proper action and proper capability in our Defence Force.”

Luxon wouldn’t say how much the increase would be.

But before the election, Act’s David Seymour was keen to see spending lifted to 2% of GDP, while Peters has made similar suggestions.

Currently, the Government’s Defence spending is around 1.5%.

Luxon won’t say how much the increase in spending will be but has previously indicated he would like to see it progressively raised to about 2%.

But he wants to make sure the money is going to the right places.

“As we tip more money into Defence, we want to be sure it’s good money into a good strategy that will actually build our Defence Force into what we need for the future,” he said.

“We will be very transparent, very upfront about why we’re doing it and what we’re trying to achieve by doing so.”

Jason Walls is Newstalk ZB’s political editor and has years of experience in radio and print, including in the parliamentary press gallery for the NZ Herald and Interest.co.nz. He is also the chairman of the press gallery.