The Australian and New Zealand Foreign Ministers and Defense Ministers issued a 2+2 joint statement, and the Chinese Embassy expressed indignation

Comprehensive report from New Zealand Chinese Herald New Zealand Defense Minister Judith Collins said New Zealand will work with Australia to create an ANZAC force in 2035, but New Zealand will still make sovereign decisions on the participation of defense force personnel.

In a joint statement with Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles, the two sides talked about a future in which the two countries empower each other and join forces to defend sovereignty, common interests, values and territories. The statement mentioned that the Australian and New Zealand Defense Forces are promoting coordinated operations. The vision is to serve as an integrated and combat-effective ANZAC by 2035 while respecting the status of the two countries as sovereign states.

But Collins said New Zealand would still control its own personnel and make its own sovereign decisions. “Within the terms of reference, if the Australians do something we are not happy with, we will withdraw our personnel and they will do the same,” she stressed.

The foreign ministers and defense ministers of the two countries are holding the 2+2 annual meeting in Canberra. A joint statement released after the meeting covered a range of issues, from conflicts in the Middle East to the Pacific and condemnation of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, while also touching on the situation in the South China Sea.

The annual meeting comes as war continues in the Middle East. The United States and Israel launched attacks on Iran, which then launched retaliatory attacks on neighboring countries hosting U.S. bases. Collins said neither New Zealand nor Australia had much information, and neither country had received a request for assistance from the United States.

She said there was a limit to how much help we could provide anyway, so any such decisions would have to be reviewed by Cabinet and must be in New Zealand’s best interests. If such a request arises, she expects New Zealand and Australia to coordinate closely.

The statement also mentioned China. The ministers stressed that they welcomed “continued dialogue” and “responsible management of strategic competition” between China and the United States. “It is necessary to promote open communication channels, increase transparency and take practical measures to reduce the risk of misunderstanding, miscalculation, escalation and conflict.”

The statement also reiterated: “All countries must abide by international law, especially the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, and maritime disputes must be resolved peacefully in accordance with international law.” Australia and New Zealand therefore “express concern about China’s increasingly destabilizing activities and unsafe and unprofessional conduct in the South China Sea.” The ministers reiterated the importance of maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and opposed any unilateral actions to change the status quo.

The spokesperson of the Chinese Embassy in New Zealand made a statement on the joint statement on Australia-New Zealand ministerial consultations. On its official WeChat account, the Chinese Embassy in New Zealand issued a strongly worded response.

The response said: “There is an old saying in China, ‘No one should be concerned about oneself, but not others’, which means you should look in the mirror before you accuse others. The (Australia-New Zealand United) statement’s accusations against China are full of prejudice, lies and inexplicable colonial arrogance, exposing its hypocrisy and double standards on major issues related to world peace and stability, and the safety and well-being of people around the world. China is strongly dissatisfied and firmly opposed to these groundless accusations and smears!”

The response also elaborated on China’s position on issues such as Xinjiang, Tibet, Hong Kong, Taiwan, the East China Sea, and the South China Sea.

The statement concluded by saying that it hoped New Zealand would “recognize the situation clearly, look at China’s development and China-New Zealand relations objectively and fairly, work with China halfway, do more things that are conducive to enhancing mutual trust and promoting cooperation, and not go further down the wrong path to prevent greater damage to bilateral relations.”

It is worth mentioning that since Collins has announced her retirement from politics, this meeting in Canberra is one of the last international activities of New Zealand’s “Iron Lady”.