Kia ora and welcome to the Spring 2022 issue of Line of Defence Magazine! In this special 25th issue of Line of Defence we welcome a new addition to the magazine – our new Aerospace section!
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The launch of the Government’s Aerospace Strategy at the inaugural New Zealand Aerospace Summit in Christchurch is just one of the many recent developments shaping Aotearoa’s burgeoning aerospace sector. This country has joined the commercial ‘space race’, and it’s fitting given the strategic and security implications of the outer atmosphere and space that we devote a section of the magazine to it.
Line of Defence’s Aerospace section is a permanent new inclusion within the magazine, and we look forward to it becoming a key platform for news and analysis on this increasingly important sector.
With a Defence Policy Statement somewhere on (or over) the horizon, Dr Wayne Mapp and Professor Alexander Gillespie weigh in on what Defence capabilities the government should be eyeing and how much it should be looking to spend. 2% of GDP anyone?
Climate is a big topic in this issue of the magazine, and rightly so. According to SIPRI’s report Environment of Peace: Security in a New Era of Risk, an eminent advisory panel – which includes former PM Helen Clark – points to now ample evidence that the adverse weather impacts of climate change are converging with other security threats to create new and complex crises.
It’s a topic that echoes throughout this issue, with Dr Kevin Trenberth noting that climate extremes are creating disasters on top of disasters, Insurance Council of New Zealand CE Tim Grafton imploring local councils to start investing in climate resilience, and New Zealand and Australia’s respective disaster management agencies seeking greater cooperation and a more connected approach.
Also of note in this issue of Line of Defence is the announcement of Aotearoa’s new ambassador to China, career diplomat Grahame Morton. He’s got significant China and, more broadly, Asia experience, and a CV reflecting a track record of engagement with some of our key international partners, but he walks into a role in which he will likely be tested in new potentially unprecedented ways.
New Zealand has enjoyed traditionally positive relations with Beijing, but it has been largely a relationship of convenience. We have prospered under the terms of a free trade agreement the envy of the OECD while treading relatively lightly on security-related matters. We’ve been, well, diplomatic.
While no one in Wellington should now be under the illusion that Beijing considers New Zealand’s claims of foreign policy independence to be credible, we can still be diplomatic about it… and we should be. As geopolitical tensions inevitably rise in the so-called Indo-Pacific, a key to successful navigation of these stormy seas will be a relationship with Beijing in which the potential for strategic miscalculation is minimised.
Diplomacy, communication, and mutual understanding in the New Zealand – China relationship will become increasingly critical as key security enablers.
Importantly, I’d like to give special thanks to our excellent sponsors who have made this 25th issue of LoD possible: General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Nova Systems, Oshkosh Defense, and PFG Group. By partnering with Line of Defence Magazine, these organisations contribute to an informed and vibrant Defence, Aerospace and National Security sector.
Nicholas Dynon, Auckland.
