Home›Global Markets›Asia›Helen Clark warns New Zealand against losing independe…

Helen Clark warns New Zealand against losing independent foreign policy

Clark said Australia’s push for nuclear submarines could translate into an American nuclear submarine base, testing New Zealand’s long-standing nonnuclear stance for the Pacific.

Reported · Written up by our desk · Asia

Helen Clark, New Zealand’s former prime minister and a former head of the UN’s development arm, warned that New Zealand should not let a growing focus on Pacific security deals undermine its independent foreign policy tradition.

In remarks delivered in Singapore, Clark pointed to two pillars of New Zealand’s foreign policy: staying independent of superpower blocs and keeping the Pacific free of nuclear weapons.

Clark said Australians being “in the market” for nuclear submarines is not helpful, and that even if submarines are not ultimately delivered, the likely result could be an American base for nuclear submarines, which she described as a development that tests New Zealand’s approach.

More like this

Sources