The Prime Minister has told the 2025 ASEAN Future Forum in Vietnam’s capital Hanoi we are now living in a world where “rules are being subsumed by power” to advance countries’ interests.
Christopher Luxon warned that this poses a clear risk to both New Zealand and the region.
The ASEAN Future Forum was a one-day conference aimed at developing a sustainable, inclusive and resilient future for the South East Asian region.
Christopher Luxon has told the ASEAN Future Forum in Vietnam that diplomacy and transparency are key in a world where countries are increasingly wielding their power. (Source: 1News)
Luxon told the forum today that New Zealand’s prosperity was directly tied to the fortunes of the South East Asian region and the Indo-Pacific was simultaneously the engine room for global economic activity but also a “potential hotspot for geopolitical tension”.
“Military expansion and modernisation is occurring at a scale not seen in this region for more than half a century.
“We are clear-eyed that the risk of conflict in our wider region has risen. All countries have a stake in, and a responsibility to invest in, dialogue and diplomacy to avoid conflict.”
Luxon said greater transparency was crucial as militaries modernised.
“Like other countries, my Government is assessing our defence capability needs right now, with a view to ensuring our Defence Force is modern, capable and fit for purpose — both for the situations it faces today and those it will face in the future. When we have taken decisions, we will be open about what those choices were, including the purpose behind them.”
Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim also addressed the ASEAN Future Forum 2025 and spoke of Vietnam’s “phenomenal growth” that was nearing 7% and the country’s first class development.
Luxon was leading a four-day trade delegation to Vietnam, as the two countries marked 50 years of formal diplomatic relations.