NZ part of drive to 'produce and sustain warfighting capability in the Indo-Pacific'
A declassified document shows New Zealand has signed up to a US-led initiative to build weaponry and logistics networks as part of China war preparation plans.
New Zealand has signed up to an initiative to ensure enough weaponry and logistical support is at hand in the Asia-Pacific region as the US prepares for a war with China.
The Partnership for Indo-Pacific Industrial Resilience (PIPIR) brings together Western allies to plug gaps in US military-industrial production and address supply chain concerns in the event of a hot war with its peer rival.
The weaponry will be used to supply countries the US hopes to use in a proxy conflict against China, which it has cast as a dangerous threat to Western ‘values’ and the rules-based international order. Those countries include South Korea and the Philippines, as well as self-governing island Taiwan.
At an inaugural plenary meeting of the PIPIR’s Contact Group on October 7 in Honolulu, US Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment, William LaPlante, said the PIPIR would “help strengthen our collective ability to produce and sustain warfighting capability in the Indo-Pacific”.
A declassified document briefing the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Minister of Defence before the meeting shows officials urging that New Zealand endorse PIPIR core principles and terms of reference at the meeting, committing the country to the scheme on an ad hoc basis.
On Monday December 9 (NZT), Defence Minister Judith Collins confirmed this had happened.
LaPlante’s comments echoed those of US Secretary of Defence Llyod Austin earlier in May after 13 countries – including New Zealand - endorsed a Statement of Principles for Indo-Pacific Defense Industrial Base Collaboration at the Shangri-La Dialogue, a Western-aligned defence summit held in Singapore. That endorsement led to the establishment of the PIPIR.
Austin said: “Together with our friends in the region, we are breaking down national barriers and better integrating our defence industries. We’re working together to fortify the shared capacity of our defence industrial bases of ourselves and our allies.”
The PIPIR will now coordinate bilateral co-production efforts with NATO partners and others who already use US military equipment and systems as part of interoperability within their militaries.
The PIPIR inaugural meeting, hosted by United States Indo-Pacific Command (INDOPACOM), established four workstreams - sustainment, production, supply chain resilience, and policy and optimisation.
According to the briefing document, the Contact Group aims to enhance the capacity of the defence industry to meet demand, while also delivering “agile and adaptable logistics, material readiness and product support capabilities”, as well as increasing the resilience of supply chains, to “include a network of people, organisations, facilities, materials and other resources to enhance the ability to eliminate or mitigate supply chain risks, respond quickly to disruptions and limit their impact”.
Production capabilities and the ‘sustainment’ needs of both the US and its regional allies are now being assessed, to best coordinate and pool resources of Western partners.
Possible projects include co-production of artillery pieces with South Korea, hypersonic missile interceptors with Japan, drones with Taiwan and missile and rocket systems, including Guided Multiple Launch Rocket Systems (GMLRS), with Australia, according to Washington think tank, the Atlantic Council.
It remains unclear what specific activities New Zealand will involve itself in.
The briefing document states New Zealand should “participate in workstreams under the PIPIR Contact Group on an ad hoc basis, depending on availability and interest in the subject matter, as determined by Defence officials”.
It calls the PIPIR a ‘good initiative’, where “participants represent mature and maturing defence industrial economies within the Indo-Pacific and Europe”.
Presenting reasons for signing up to the scheme, it stated: “Any initiative aimed at regional defence industry resilience by expanding industrial capacity, creating opportunities for new entrants, and reducing barriers to the flow of knowledge, goods and services will benefit New Zealand and New Zealand industry.”
Officials noted that participation in the PIPIR was non-binding and that the work of the Contact Group would be “supported by workstreams established to identify and address current gaps”.
They proposed to leave open the option of engaging in all the workstreams, with participation in activities to be determined on a case-by-case basis, as activities were scheduled.
The news comes after Collins announced a closer bilateral defence relationship with Australia on April 6.
“Beyond the pathway towards an integrated ‘Anzac’ force, we also commit to increase coordination, alignment, and interoperability between our defence forces,” a joint statement from Collins and Australia Defence Minister Richard Marles said.
Former New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark tweeted that the Anzac agreement was unwise and “likely to put significant pressure on NZ to spend more and follow Australia strategic priorities”.
It also comes as New Zealand moves closer to joining the techno-military Pillar II dimension of troubled nuclear submarine alliance AUKUS, formed by the US, UK and Australia to confront China.
In November, China’s ambassador to New Zealand Wang Xiaolong warned a decision to join Pillar II would have negative consequences. New Zealand enjoys a free trade agreement with China, its biggest market for exports.
"We hope that when weighing up this all-important decision, New Zealand will take into account its own long-term best interests, the potential implications for regional security, and the impact on the relationship between China and New Zealand,” he told journalist Guyon Espiner.
A large part of the NZ Defence Force budget of $571 million this year has been used to upgrade its equipment and infrastructure.
New Zealand has aligned itself more closely with US military posture in the region and beyond, with involvement in several NATO and US military-led operations of late.
It has accepted an invitation to join US-led multi-national space initiative Operation Olympic Defender, formed to coordinate the space capabilities of member nations, including the ability to “deter hostile actions in space”.
The country has also deployed a Defence Force team to a US-led mission to patrol the Red Sea to target Houthi forces in Yemen and continues to deploy up to 97 personnel to Europe to train Ukrainian soldiers and engage in intelligence and logistics operations as part of Operation Tieke.
The text of the document reads like "greasy slime-balls and bollocks".. Nasty stuff
Oh nice going along with the worst war mongers on the planet.