The bilateral relationship between two antipodean neighbours- India and New Zealand, has been a tale of divergent policy stances and changing international milieu which have defined their relationship. Usually, whenever there is an exposition of India approach to the region, the two countries- Australia and Fiji have garnered necessary space leaving New Zealand outside the preview. However, the role and the stance that both India and New Zealand have played in the case of nuclear disarmament, developing sustainable island economies and also supporting the cause of peace and stability in their respective neighbourhood which has been much understated. The discovery of the new continent which is submerged in the South Pacific Ocean and christened as New Zealandia have testified the continental drift which has happened over the years in one geographic land mass- Gondwanaland, and Australia and New Zealand fragmented landmass from it. In the last hundred years of geopolitics, this region has drifted from the South Asian, particularly India’s radar.
India- New Zealand relations has its own share of swings in the ties. While the two countries sit on the two sides of the Indo-Pacific but they have the similar agenda for global peace and development which has been espoused by many countries in Asia and Africa. The two countries also look forward for South-South Cooperation while at the same time advocating enhanced interaction with the developed world. India and New Zealand, the two former British colonies have been influenced by the British administrative set up- executive and legislative as well as bureaucratic setup. However, while New Zealand had been the US alliance partner, India has clearly espoused for a strategic autonomy. For many India- USSR Friendship treaty signed in 1971 was seen as the alliance formation with the erstwhile Soviet Union which has never been the case. In this relationship few incidents have impacted the ties in such a way which has led to complete estrangement at times. This included issues related to the anti-apartheid regime of South Africa, nuclear disarmament, while at the same times there’re have been interesting times and the testimony to which still lingers in the Indian psyche. This includes the support New Zealand has extended during the India- China War in 1962, the support to the Bangladesh Liberation war and the aid extended to India for the establishment of the AIIMS. Now India has planned for AIIMS across all the major Indian cities. The initiative is bearing multiple off springs now. The latest sign of the developing relationship between the two nations is the discovery of the submerged continent, two thirds the size of Australia underneath the Pacific Ocean. Surprisingly the continent is alluded to as the New Zealandia, clearly signifying the possibility of the two countries coming together.
India and New Zealand have been espousing for building capacities in their relative neighbourhoods and that is clearly manifested in New Zealand supporting the multi-racial and multi religious cultures while at the same time supporting the island economies and countries in its neighbourhood. The task is more arduous as many of these countries do not have sufficient natural resources to sustain their population. The hosting of the expatriate labour and workers across the region has helped these economies. On the other hand, India has been trying to develop the south Asian identity with its willing neighbors and has been partially successful in that the BBIN initiative as well as providing the direct Ocean link to countries such as Nepal and Bhutan shows that that landlocked countries can have access to the ports if the neighbor acts in a brotherly way. India has been trying to assist the island economies such as Maldives and Sri Lanka through capacity building and also assisting them at times of need. The case in point was that of the Turkish airplane crash in Nepal when runaway was obstructed and flight operations were hindered and also providing safe drinking water to Maldives when there was water shortage. The need at these times is to integrate economies and build interdependencies. However, at time many policy initiatives have been wrongly interpreted as intervention in political affairs of the state and India does face such allegations.
For both India and New Zealand, the multilateral institutions have been the primary area of interest and the two countries have been engaged in the multilateral structures in their respective neighborhoods. This includes Pacific Island Forum in South Pacific while for India SAARC, BIMSTEC have been the priority multilateral structures. Pacific island forum is working on the trade and investment across the members while India has been supporting unilateral reduction in tariffs in the case of BIMSTEC but in the case of SAARC the reciprocity has been missing from certain member countries. Also terrorism which is a major area of concern for India has not been addressed by the recalcitrant neighbour Pakistan which is a matter of concern and barring only one exception most of the South Asian countries have flagged these issues in many recent meetings. Trade and investment ties between India, Nepal, Bhutan, and Sri Lanka have been growing and the aid and assistance programmes have been bearing fruits. India- Sri Lanka trade is one of the very few trade agreements that Sri Lanka have and it is strongly in favor of Sri Lanka. India has been trying to build complementariness between institutions and one manifestation of its was the interaction between BRICS and BIMSTEC leaders during the BRICS meeting in Goa last year. The New Development Bank might help in meeting infrastructure requirements of many developing nations.
In the case of India and New Zealand participation in the multilateral institutions the three major institutions come to the mind. These include the ASEAN Dialogue partner meetings, ASEAN Regional Forum and East Asia Summit. The issue related to regional security and peace have manifested itself in many of these meetings and both India and New Zealand have reflected near identical positions. Regarding South China Sea, even though the two major powers and the regional claimants have adopted restrain but given the fact that it is a major Sea Lanes of Communication, the turbulent and tensions in the region would affect the trade and commerce as well as aviation industry. The demarcation of Air Defence Identification Zones would impede the aviation and free flight while at the same time at the sea level the freedom of navigation and exploration of mineral resources as well as oil in territorial waters would be impeded. The two countries need to join hands to address this issue as we have seen that non-traditional issues such as pandemics, human trafficking, drugs and addressing post natural disaster requirements have been met by both countries. The role of ASEAN centric institutions as well as elevation of East Asia Summit as the high table for discussing regional security issues becomes all the more important.
The second issue which need further highlighting from both sides is the issue of the radical Islam and the increasing influence of the Islamic State (Daesh is what India prefers to call rather than state because it is not a political entity). It has been seen in various quarters that the youth in countries such as Malaysia, Indonesia and Philippines have been influenced the Daesh urge to join their ranks which has led to flight of young people to these distant lands. The end of Daesh is expected in near future but the return of these young people to these countries and their deradicalisation and also insulating them from influencing the other young people would be an arduous task. It has been seen earlier also that the Al Qaeda influence have permeated into the psyche of the impressionable minds. Developments in the region and the support that many countries might require in near future need to be address by both the countries. India and New Zealand can also learn from the deradicalisation procedures adopted by these Southeast Asian countries to draw lessons.
The third issue which is believed to be addressed by the two countries bilaterally is related to the issue of the development of the island economies and look for the concept of Ocean economy/blue economy. The viable models can be replicated in both India and Pacific Oceans so that many island communities can benefit. Also India and New Zealand have been effectively working on the SDGs after meeting many objectives of the Millennium Development Goals. India and New Zealand can share the economically viable and also technical aspects of their respective plan of action with regard to SDGs. This will help to fulfill many aspirations of the large populations which spans across the India and Pacific Ocean.
The fourth issue which concerns both India and New Zealand and which might be an area of concern for the two countries is with regard to the role that US might play in the larger Indo-pacific region. The US withdrawal from the regional theatre would lead to the dominance of one power which might not be good for the multipolarity that had existed in the region and also many countries would wean away to the emerging power. The US interests and effective participation in the region need to be supported and enhanced. The multipolar structure would help many countries including India, New Zealand, Australia, Japan and Korea to define the new regional order.
Between India and New Zealand, the issue of disarmament has gained much attention both in media and also research papers. As India has been trying to get into NSG because of its impeccable non–proliferation record we would like to seek more dialogue and clarity form the New Zealand side on this. India media has been very proactive in this and has listed the countries which have not supported India’s candidature for membership of NSG. As a result, China has been seen as the major spoiler. However, there are technical issues which India is keen to sit down and have a dialogue with all the major players in the NSG. A nuclear world is not a sign for good future but a complete nuclear disarmed world is the need and there should not be any exceptions. An egalitarian non-nuclear weapons world is what India aspires for.
Trade issue shave hogged much attention in New Zealand media. India and New Zealand have been working to address the issue. India is preparing itself to offer reciprocal tariffs to countries such as Australia and New Zealand but it should be met with reciprocity. With New Zealand there have been issues related to the import of diary and other agriculture products which is justified but given the fact that India is one of the largest milk producing countries in the world, it is but natural for these milk cooperatives and larger dairy farms to protect their interests. India and New Zealand can work on those issues but for India the issue of bio-security, sanitary and phyto-sanitary issues as well as legal issues related to dispute settlement mechanisms need to be addressed and also negotiated. It is strongly believed that island economies need to have these strong bio-security laws but them these non-tariff barriers have their own resonating sounds.
Tourism between the two countries has been growing and this is a meter of joy. However, India tourists and New Zealand tourist look forward for direct flights which is missing in the link. Further this would promote educational ties. India does want to learn from New Zealand expertise in cold chain management and processed foods as in many high altitude locations within India do not get supplies for months and this way processed foods can provide assistance and support to those far off regions.
India is looking forward for APEC membership in future and it believes that New Zealand can play can effective role in this regard. India is targeting this year summit in Vietnam to project its candidature and New Zealand support is requested in its pursuit. Further, the US withdrawal from the TPP have been lamented by many quarters but India believes that TPP still has a future. It depends on the other 11 countries to tweak the rules of trade, investment and cooperation so that other eligible members and future participating countries can join.
In the end it would be better to say that India- New Zealand relationships in the past have gone through its own climaxes but it definitely seems likely future of happily ever after.
(Dr. Pankaj K Jha is Executive Director of Centre for Security and Strategy Studies, Delhi NCR)