Perhaps we need to take over New Zealand before they do a Solomon Islands on us.

Their Prime Minister has announced that Xi Jinping is not a dictator, after calls for New Zealand to start pulling its weight in AUKAS.

New Zealand was the only Five Eyes country to refuse to sign a statement condemning Beijing for its destruction of Hong Kong's democracy in 2021. The US is wary of sharing secrets with NZ for fear that might end up in Xi Jinping's intelligence briefings. It was noted in America that Australia's strategy towards China could not be more different from New Zealand's, and how Australia was suffering Chinese boycotts because of it - unlike suck-up New Zealand. Remember the sickening defence of one of their Ministers comparing some old Maori mumbo jumbo with Chinese dragons, or some such rot?

At the time, the idea of reducing Five Eyes to Four Eyes was mooted.

NZ spends a mere 1% of GDP on defence. One wit summed up the little country's defence policy in one word - 'Australia'. But, like the Solomon's, they might get a better deal from China.

The labour government is too busy expanding the public service, co governance with the Maori and grovelling at the feet of China that it has nothing for the military.

If New Zealand is attacked with more than a Granny with a butter knife it is stuffed.

"Five Eyes"
What a joke!
AUKAS is essentially 'one eye' issuing temporary franchises to those who want to believe they are important to the cause.
The temporary franchisees have to prove their commitment by acceding to the 'suggestion come request' of 'one eye'
The nuclear submarines, essentially built by the UK, supposedly for Australians
In the land of the blind, the one eyed man is king

"Their Prime Minister has announced that Xi Jinping is not a dictator, after calls for New Zealand to start pulling its weight in AUKAS."

As far as I knew New Zealand has already made it's decision on AUKUS.
Maybe things have changed since earlier in the year, but if so I haven't heard about it.

Nanaia Mahuta shuts door on NZ joining AUKUS after U.S says it’s ‘very much open’
http://pina.com.fj/2023/07/28/nanaia-mahuta-shuts-door-on-nz-joining-aukus-after-u-s-says-its-very-much-open/

>>“The door is very much open for NZ and other partners to engage as they see appropriate,” said Blinken.
But that door was later slammed shut by Mahuta.
“I’ll be really clear, we’re not contemplating joining AUKUS,” she said.
Not only would AUKUS clash with our nuclear-free laws, but also the country’s nuclear-free Pacific policy. It’s a club we’d have to sell our soul to join.<<

My personal thoughts are that this coming war is one we should stay out of.
The smart countries and the ones who will fare best are the ones who stay non-aligned.

I don't care about western hegemony, defending the US dollar or defending Taiwan.
If the Taiwanese are stupid enough to vote for the pro-western Democratic Progressive Party instead of pro-unification KMT, then they deserve to become the next Ukraine.
Let them make their own democratic choice and live with the consequences.
Hopefully they are intelligent enough to vote for the Kuomintang next year, and things won't turn into WWIII in the first place.

View from Taiwan: KMT frames 2024 election as a choice between war and peace
http://www.axios.com/2023/05/23/taiwan-kmt-frames-2024-election-choice-between-war-peace

I think India is probably in the best position right now.
They're lucky enough to hold the position with the US of 'The enemy of my enemy is my friend',
- whilst remaining non-aligned and supporting a multi-polar world.

Hear what Jaishankar says
http://youtu.be/kKJeaM-FeMA

Was the Dangerous Doctor Donald selling US secrets to the highest bidder when he had the top job? The Kiwi's are right, they can't trust the Americans, and that's a fact. America should have eight eyes, like all the other spiders in the world! Not five, termites have five eyes! Maybe the Americans are termites or spiders. take your pick!

Thanks AC, you're not like that sycophant the Village idiot with his all the way with LBJ rubbish. You see the Americans for what they are! BTW a top European military expert said Ukraine wont last the Winter, they wont be able to protect their power plants and other infrastructure from Russian attack, they are using up more missiles per day than their allies in the west can produce in a month. And many in Europe are getting nervous that their own military capability is getting dangerously depleted. Many Republicans in US are wanting to cut off military aid to Ukraine, they see it as an unwinnable war.

According to New Zealand's Foreign Minister New Zealand
manages the China relationship carefully. It works to
avoid being caught in rivalry especially between China
and the United States.

New Zealand's relations with China have grown, particularly
in the areas of trade, education, tourism, climate change,
and public sector cooperation. Their relationship has been
characterized by trade and economic cooperation.

Of course Australia should keep on eye on what New Zealand is
doing - but I'm not sure what it can do about it. New
Zealand and China according to sources on the web have a long
standing relationship going back to the 1840s. The previous
PM , Jacinta Adhern used stronger language when dealing with
China. The current administration is treading more carefully
probably it wants to maintain trade and economic cooperation.

New Zealand most likely does not want China to impose sanctions
like it to on Australia.

It is a complex situation.

Hi Foxy,

Both sides of politics in NZ take a similar "nonaligned" policy on international relations ever since learning a hard lesson from their pointless involvement in Americas war of aggression in Vietnam where 37 Kiwi's were killed. New Zealand very much see their sphere of influence as being solidly in the Pacific, very much among the small Pacific Island nations like Fiji. We will be in NZ administered territory at the end of the month, for a wedding in the Cook Islands.

BTW, New Zealand's contribution in both world wars was greater per-capita than Australia's.

Hi Paul,

Thanks for the information. New Zealand's approach
regarding China makes sense. Just as Australia's
recent tactic of diplomacy seems to be working out
as well. I like New Zealanders. I've worked with quite
a few. Lovely people.

My nephew worked on a huge project there (he's an environmental
engineer). And hubby's architectural firm entered an
international competition for a master plan for Auckland's
Central Business District ages ago and they won.

New Zealand is one place I would like to visit again.
So beautiful.

China is winning the war mainly through proxies. The proxies are doing the dirty work for them.

New Zealand is looking like a proxy. Other proxies are the Solomon Islands; Russia; Pakistan; North Korea (the Left in South Korea); Iran, to name a few.

The PRC has proxies in Western countries, including Australia and the U.S. Even in Taiwan, where the criminal gangs are pro Beijing.

China is winning the war without firing a shot or getting its hands dirty.

There is hope though, if Greg Copley is correct. China's economy is tanking; unemployment is rife; high-ranking party officials are disappearing, meaning Xi is nervous; he might have to concentrate on keeping his own power rather than ruling the world. Ruling China is the number one issue for Xi and the CCP. They won't suffer no matter what happens to China and the Chinese people. They are not that different from the old Emperors.

Baldrick,

I see that the village idiot is sucking up to you big time. After years of being a phoney pacifist, he is now cheering on his bum pal Putin and celebrating NZ's involvement in WW1 and WW2. What a moron.

This idiot celebrates tyrants like Hitler, Stalin, Mao and now Putin and has a secret crush on his mate Jono Doig. Like you, he has trouble with the truth.

SM

Again you post a claim that I have some kind of relationship with a convinced paedophile; "a secret crush on his (paul1405) mate Jono Doig". Provide evidence, or should I, like you did, ask the MODERATOR GRAHAM YOUNG for you to cough up the evidence? I await your response.

So you admit that you are the village idiot?

Hi Shadow Minister,
I don't at all think Paul's sucking up to me, he just tends to think more the way I do on this topic than the way others do.
If he disagreed I'm sure he'd say so, and I think you're just using me to try have a dig at him.
I'm sure you and I would be in agreement on many other topics even though our opinions differ on the war in Ukraine.
I'm absolutely certain Paul holds different opinions to me on many other issues.
Whilst ttbn and I hold a different opinions on this topic, we agree on many others, we probably agree more often than we disagree.
You'd be hard pressed to find ANY two people on the forum who agree on all issues.

Shadow Minister,

This reminds me of a quote from Abraham Lincoln:

"If you were given six hours to chop down a tree -
you'd spend the first four sharpening the axe."

Hi AC,

As I've said previously I'm not a supporter of war in any shape or form from any side. What I was conveying was from an interview with a European military analysts, not a Russian or a Ukrainian, he was simply giving his opinion of the upcoming situation as he viewed it. The resources needed by Ukraine on a daily basis, particularly with the severe winter conditions ahead, are in his view far greater than what their allies are capable of, or prepared to, commit to the fight. He simply believes the Russians will target Ukrainian power infrastructure and other assets, which will weaken the Ukrainian resolve, possibly to the point of collapse. It's no secret the hard line Republicans in Washington are not great supporters of the war, and see it more or less as a Biden/Democrat war. THE INNOCENT ARE LOSING THE WAR, as they always do!

Hi Paul,
I think its as reasonable an assessment as any.
Ukraine's not doing too well right now, regardless of where one may sit in regards to the war.
The counteroffensive certainly didn't achieve goals many in the west and Ukraine had hoped.

Baldrick, if the village idiot agrees with you then you seriously need to re-evaluate your opinions.

Russia invaded Crimea to maintain its Black Sea naval base. So far Russia's navy has fled from Crimea because it cannot protect its ships or aircraft. Due to Russia blowing up the dam, Ukraine has little to no fresh water and relies on fuel coming from Russia.

Russia itself is short of fuel and has put a ban on exports. Its hydrocarbon revenues are less than 50% of what it was in 2021 and it is struggling to export anything else. The Ruble is crashing and Russia's economy is now almost entirely focussed on the war.

Russia is losing the war badly.

Morning Charter Boat,
"Baldrick, if the village idiot agrees with you then you seriously need to re-evaluate your opinions."

I don't base my own opinions on the basis of opposing the opinions of others.
How stupid would that be?
I can't help your Shadow Minister mentality,
- If that's how you think then I can't help that.
My opinions are my own, as are Pauls, as are yours.

As for the rest of your ramblings, well the violin concerto is not based in fact.
The Ukrainians are freaking out the money tap will get turned off.
And by the way Nordstream 2 is now full of gas ready to supply Germany for winter.
Just the thing to get them all riled up against their US lapdog masters when freezing in their beds.

Russian economy not in tatters. German economy in tatters
http://youtu.be/biZkwTAQlDY

It didn't take long to get off New Zealand.

In my travels, there are two countries and their people I have not liked: New Zealand and New Zealanders, and Scotland and the Scots (even though I'm half Scottish myself).

Both dingy, brooding countries, with rude, grumpy inhabitants. The Scots seem to improve when they migrate. The New Zealanders do not.

Sorry for going off topic ttbn,
(as I often do)

There's a few articles in the Australian that relate to this topic including one from a couple of days ago.
I can't get past the paywall and the URL's are too long.
Maybe NZ is being pushed towards joining AUKUS, it seems PM Chris Hipkins is supportive.

You can find those article here below though.
http://www.google.com/search?q=Kiwi+PM+says+AUKUS+a+must+for+the+region

Also there's a short discussion below from about a month ago which is relevant.

New Zealand: From Independence to AUKUS?
http://youtu.be/7FFDRgrVJEw

Looks like the chances of NZ falling in line with AUKUS just went up.
Christopher Luxon just won the NZ election.

New Zealand Opposition Leader Christopher Luxon says he would 'explore' joining AUKUS if his party wins upcoming election
http://www.skynews.com.au/world-news/new-zealand-opposition-leader-christopher-luxon-says-he-would-explore-joining-aukus-if-his-party-wins-upcoming-election/news-story/1012fac7703ed6a0e88157a5e9100a3c