The US Secretary of State's press conference at the Beehive could have been mistaken for being in Washington given the intense focus on America's view on unfolding global issues, writes political editor Jo Moir
Analysis: The relationship between Antony Blinken and Foreign Affairs Minister Nanaia Mahuta is clearly a strong one, with the US Secretary of State referring to her by first name in front of media from both countries at a press conference on Thursday.
It was only a few months ago in Brussels when the pair last met – that meeting was focused on the Indo-Pacific and economic opportunities within it, the war in Ukraine and cooperation in helping the needs of Pacific Island countries.
Similar themes were traversed in their meeting in Wellington on Thursday, and once again Mahuta pushed the desire for the US to formally join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).
That conversation in the first instance took place at a dinner on Wednesday night which Trade Minister Damien O’Connor also attended.
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O’Connor told Newsroom in May last year there was no political appetite for the CPTPP in the US and while it remained on meeting agendas, it was not realistic.
It hasn’t come off the agenda, as seen this week, but Mahuta was quick to make it clear to media after Blinken’s departure that while New Zealand was keen for the US to join, “it’s not where their priority is”.
Instead, the so-called poorer cousin – the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) – continues to be discussed.
While the talks between Blinken, Mahuta and Prime Minister Chris Hipkins centred on interests each country had in the region, and how they were supporting Ukraine’s counter-offensive in the northern hemisphere, there were clearly other issues going on while Blinken was in town.
The pōwhiri welcoming him to Parliament was delayed by half an hour as Blinken dealt with the breaking story out of Niger, that soldiers had removed President Mohamed Bazoum from power in what they claimed was a coup.
Asking Mahuta on the spot in front of live cameras for permission to go off-topic, Blinken used some of his opening remarks to make comments about the situation in Niger for the benefit of the US media contingent travelling with him, to be broadcast back home.
“Nanaia with your permission there is one word I’d like to say about something that is not on our agenda – that we’re very closely monitoring the situation in Niger.
“I spoke with President Bazoum this morning and made clear that the United States resolutely supports him as the democratically-elected president in Niger, we call for his immediate release and condemn any effort to seize power by force,” Blinken said.
The US media used their allocated questions to ask about that situation and it being described as a coup, whether US Embassy personnel staff were safe and how it will impact counter-terrorism operations in the region.
They also went on to ask about Afghan leaders meeting with Russia’s President Vladimir Putin to talk about food supply issues, the US policy on sharing information about war crimes in Ukraine and any potential shifts in the counter-offensive there.
New Zealand media, however, focused on the Aukus deal and whether the US was keen for our Government to join. There were questions on how the US felt about New Zealand’s relationship with China, and whether any concrete progress had been made on the IPEF.
US media pushed Mahuta on the Solomon Islands' security deal with China and whether she’d received any correspondence about what exactly it meant, as Mahuta has requested.
She reiterated her continued push for the Solomon Islands to make clear what the full arrangements are so Pacific neighbours can assess what it means for them.
On China, Blinken said there was a “convergence and commonality of approach” when it came to engagement, and the US, Pacific countries and Europe were all keeping lines of communication open with China to avoid any fears around conflict.
Speaking to media after the formal press conference, Mahuta said New Zealand was encouraged that the US and China had recently begun diplomatic talks, including Blinken visiting Beijing, but “not to over-read too much into it”.
On Aukus she said officials had been asked to go away and work out the parameters of what a second pillar might look like, and once they’d relayed that to her she could talk further with Cabinet.
She reemphasised there would be no consideration of joining Aukus under the current nuclear arm, and that there was no timeline for officials to come back to her on the second pillar.
Blinken said the door was open to New Zealand, as a “deeply-trusted partner” to join Aukus in some form.
It was a heavy-hitting 40-minute exchange of views, with both Blinken and Mahuta well across their brief.
It’s clear Mahuta has found her diplomatic groove since Hipkins relieved her of the local government portfolio earlier this year.
The Foreign Affairs Minister was succinctly expressing the Government’s position in her own terms rather than relying on memorised notes and statements from her ministry.
Blinken's first visit to New Zealand's shores was clearly a memorable one, with him speaking candidly about how moved he was by the pōwhiri on Thursday morning – a day he would never forget.
