The Summer 2020 edition of Line of Defence is out. Ex Minister of Defence Wayne Mapp in his column writes:
"New Zealand joining the recent Five Eyes communique about Hong Kong could probably be seen in this light. Our role in Iraq and Afghanistan can also be measured this way. Perhaps the most skillful of such strategic calculations was Australian Prime Minister John Howard’s decision to send a squadron of F 18 aircraft to Iraq in 2003. It was a high profile contribution, but it also had minimal risk of . Arguably Prime Minister Morrison has not been so adroit. Asking for an apology (in relation to Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lijian Zhao posting of an offensive fake image on Twitter) when there is no chance it would ever be made is not looking for a pathway out of the dilemma."
Well Wayno, Scott Morrison had every right to demand an apology from the CCP / PRC authorities over that offensive image. It is how the CCP reacted that gives truth to their intentions and the two faced lies that they have been telling the world. I suggest that you read this article:
China Lodges a War Against Australian Sovereignty | Defense.info and this may enlighten you to what is happening in the real world. Ross Babbage is a well respected author and a subject matter expert. I would further suggest that you read Prof Anne-Marie Brady's work on the CCP and its workings. She is a world authority on the topic. What the CCP / PRC is doing to Australia is not a trade war but a war against sovereignty. That is what Babbage wrote and if you look at the 14 demands made by the PRC of Australia to settle the dispute you can see that they are not about trade but sovereignty, pure and simple.
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Source:
'If you make China the enemy, China will be the enemy': Beijing's fresh threat to Australia
So that's what we are facing and having to fight against as well Wayno.
Then Wayno went on to write this:
New Zealand’s defence procurement choices raise possibilities to send a signal to our various partners as to where our priorities lie. Successive Defence Reviews clearly indicate our priority is the South West Pacific, essentially from the Equator to the Antarctic. All of New Zealand’s sovereign territory and the realm countries are within this zone. It is an immense area of the world.
New Zealand’s defence assets are broadly configured to cover this region, although the small number of platforms means the coverage is episodic. Some assets, in particular, the frigates and the Orion aircraft, soon to be replaced by the Poseidon aircraft, have more utility outside the region. However, the immensity of the region is such that only the Orion/Poseidon aircraft have the range and endurance to undertake surveillance within the region and thus are the appropriate choice.
Within the next three to five years, New Zealand will have to make the choice on what ships will replace the two Anzac frigates. The current upgrades will see the frigates through to the early 2030’s, which will be 35 years after they entered service. Their replacements need to be planned now.
It would be a legitimate choice for New Zealand to replace the frigates and the current offshore patrol vessels with much more capable offshore patrol vessels, such as the Canadian Harry DeWolf class, capable of navigating the waters from the Equator to the Antarctic. They may be less useful outside the South West Pacific, but there is certainly enough maritime patrol, humanitarian and environmental work to keep them busy within the region.
Such a decision has a number of advantages. They are cheaper than frigates. They ensure better patrol capabilities within our region, while being less concerned with matters outside our region. We have other defence assets that would be more useful for coalition tasks, including the new tanker/logistics vessel, the Aotearoa, as well as the new Poseidon aircraft.
Such a choice would clearly show that our principal interests are within the South West Pacific. It would also show that New Zealand has not built a defence force that replicates, on a small scale, the expeditionary capabilities of our larger partners, but neither are we so insular that we have no capabilities that can contribute to wider coalition roles. (Emphasis mine)
So according to Wayno we just get rid of our frigates whilst we have an adversary moving within the South Pacific that is waging a political war against our closest friend, neighbour, family member, and only ally. Has he forgotten that we have defence and security responsibilities for nations in the South Pacific? It seems that Wayno has entered his dotage or has become a member of the Auckland Peace Action Group. This is certainly not an article written by someone who has the security and defence of NZ's sovereignty at heart. Who's he working for now? Maybe he's a hidden Treasury operative.
Summer 2020/21 - Defsec pp30 - 31.
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Wouldn't want one of them multimillion dollar bespoke foiling yachts hitting Te Kaha when they're doing 50 knots. Already the Pommy team has gone into whinge mode.
