New Zealand PM Ardern Backs Five Eyes, Open to Other Alliances
Nov. 26, 2021, at 2:44 a.m.
(Reuters) - New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern expressed support on Friday for its Five Eyes alliance with Australia, Britain, Canada and the United States, but said her country would also consider other economic alliances in the Pacific region.
New Zealand has faced increasing pressure from some elements among Western allies over its reluctance to use the Five Eyes intelligence and security alliance to criticise its top trading partner, China.
"We do have important alliances we are part of and we consider fit for purpose and we consider need to be used for the functions for which they were originally established," Ardern said in an interview for the upcoming Reuters Next https://reutersevents.com/events/next conference.
"Beyond that, we consider that there's benefit to seeing a range of other actors in our region showing greater interest, not just in the strategic environment but the economic architecture for example of our region," she added.
"We welcome other countries becoming more closely aligned through multilateral trade agreements, through bilateral trade agreements."
https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2021-11-26/new-zealand-pm-ardern-backs-five-eyes-open-to-other-alliances
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New Zealand playing both sides of the fence? Sounds like they are moving closer to China while still enjoying the intelligence sharing of Five-Eyes nations