NZ DEFENSE MINISTER COMMENTS ON MILITARY REBUILDING AND THE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 WELLINGTON 000145 SIPDIS SIPDIS STATE FOR STATE FOR EAP/PD,EAP/P,EAP/ANP PACOM FOR J01E/J2/J233/J5/SJFHQ E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: OPRC KMDR KPAO IO NZ SUBJECT: NZ DEFENSE MINISTER COMMENTS ON MILITARY REBUILDING AND THE U.S.-N.Z. RELATIONSHIP WELLINGTON 00000145 001.2 OF 002 ¶1. BEGIN SUMMARY: On April 27 New Zealand's Defense Minister Phil Goff was interviewed on the Sunday morning current affairs program "Agenda TV". Minister Goff emphasized that New Zealand is pouring billions of dollars into rebuilding its defense capacity and he focused on the cooperative dynamic of the bilateral relationship. In response to questioning he expressed frustration about the delay receiving approval to sell the A-4s and reiterated a long-standing invitation for the U.S. to send a ship to New Zealand. The program also featured an arts segment highlighting an exhibition on shared U.S.-N.Z. history; an exhibition on the many positive memories of the presence of U.S. Marines in New Zealand during WW II that received its seed funding from Embassy Wellington's grants budget. END SUMMARY. ¶2. THE BILATERAL RELATIONSHIP Defense Minister Goff noted U.S-N.Z. cooperation saying, "We've got New Zealanders on American ships at the moment in the Pacific doing humanitarian work, we have cooperation over proliferation security initiatives, we have very close cooperation over the Pacific where the United States has said that it relies on New Zealand and Australia to do the work that we're doing in Timor-Leste in the Solomons and Tonga and so on." On the nuclear issue, the Minister referenced comments by Secretary Rice and refocused on cooperation "...that's the rock in the road. What, as Condoleezza Rice has said recently, we're working our way around the rock in the road at the moment, we're working quite closely with the United States where our objectives are the same, whether it be in humanitarian disaster relief, Afghanistan, proliferation Security Initiative and so on." ¶3. DEFENSE BUDGET INCREASES Minister Goff emphasized that New Zealand continues to rebuild its defense force "both in terms of equipment and in terms of personnel" noting that New Zealand is "836 defense personnel up on where we were three or four years ago " and that he was "talking about the increases of literally tens of millions of dollars each year going into the budget." Goff says he thinks "New Zealanders would feel that we're spending enough on defense. In the long term development plan we put in 3.3 billion dollars over 10 years, in the defense sustainability initiative both these plans running over 10 years we put in 4.4 billion dollars." The Minister also took the opportunity to announce an increase to defense pay packets aimed at staff retention. "It will on average be about 10% ...some will get significantly more than the 10% but the biggest number of people will get around the 10 to 12%." ¶4. SKYHAWKS In response to questioning and the assertion that the sale of New Zealand's A-4s "has been a complete failure" the Minister expressed frustration and made a nod at the fiscal implications saying: "You know that what holds it up is an American process whereas we cannot sell the A-4s without the approval of Congress, the problem is within their system, it's very frustrating for us, I've got 125 million dollars sitting there, I've got potentially two buyers within the United States, we can sell as soon as the Congress and the State Department give approval. For reasons internal to their system that I can't go into in detail we have had that on hold, that is not the fault of New Zealand there is nothing more...(interrupted by journalist) ¶5. SHIP INVITATION REITERATED WELLINGTON 00000145 002.2 OF 002 The Minister was asked to confirm that there's a standing invitation for a U.S. ship to visit New Zealand and was asked to re-issue that invitation. Asked "if the United States proposed to send a non nuclear armed, non nuclear powered vessel to New Zealand before the election, and I emphasize before the election, would you say yes both to the visit and the timing and would you welcome it at the wharf?" Minister Goff replied: "Yes, they are welcome to come and have been welcome to come over the last many years on the same conditions that any other vessel from any other navy in the world comes. We make a judgment as to whether it's likely to be nuclear powered or armed. We know that the only surface vessels in the American Navy that are nuclear powered for example are aircraft Carriers; we know that surface ships don't carry nuclear weapons. The invitation is there for the Americans as with the Brits or the French or for that matter any other country that comes, to come on that basis. The ball is in their court...I've said that on many occasions. People have said would the American Navy be welcome here and I always say yes on the same basis as we welcome the other navies. We make a judgment as to whether it meets our legislation, I'm sure all their surface ships but the aircraft carriers meet those requirements, the United States is aware that they could ask for a vessel to com at any time, but that is their call at this point." ¶6. A full transcript is available at: http://www.agendatv.co.nz/Site/agenda/transcr ipts/ 2008/Apirl 1-27.aspx Keegan