This week the United States’ Defence Secretary Leon Panetta visited New Zealand after holding bilateral meetings with the People’s Republic of China and Japan. Panetta met with New Zealand’s Defence Minister Jonathan Coleman and announced how the US and NZ are progressing their military and defence ties. Panetta also raised how the US is willing [...]
Radio Australia Interview: Paul Buchanan On US looks to NZ to help counter China
Written by Selwyn Manning on Monday, September 24th, 2012
Analytic Brief: A Romney Foreign Policy and the Southwestern Pacific.
Written by Paul Buchanan on Friday, September 21st, 2012
Analytic Brief: A Romney Foreign Policy in the Southwestern Pacific. Analysis – By Dr. Paul G. Buchanan. Introduction: 36th Parallel Assessments Founding Partner Dr. Paul G. Buchanan has been traveling in the US for a month. He has had an opportunity to observe the US election campaign from both coasts, and in this brief discusses the [...]
The Pacific Fibre Issue – Has The US Gone Too Far?
Written by Selwyn Manning on Thursday, August 2nd, 2012
The Pacific Fibre Issue – Has The US Gone Too Far? Analysis – By Selwyn Manning. On Thursday morning Interest.co.nz‘s Alex Tarrant reported that the Kiwi Pacific Fibre cable project was sunk by US fears about Chinese investment, and espionage. Interest.co.nz‘s main contact was New Zealand-based invester Rod Drury who said: “It was made clear [...]
Parliamentary Network on Nuclear Disarmament (PNND) Visit to North Korea (DPRK) – Post Visit Report
Written by 36th Parallel on Wednesday, July 25th, 2012
Parliamentary Network on Nuclear Disarmament (PNND) Visit to North Korea (DPRK) – Post Visit Report Report by and courtesy of Matt Robson. See Also: Speech to Korea Association of New Zealand. ******* REPORT FROM MATT ROBSON- REPRESENTATIVE OF PARLIAMENTARIANS NETWORK FOR NUCLEAR DISARMAMENT (PNND) and BOARD MEMBER OF AOTEAROA LAWYERS FOR PEACE (ALP) ON: FACT-FINDING [...]
Parliamentary Network on Nuclear Disarmament Visit to North Korea – Post Visit Speech
Written by 36th Parallel on Wednesday, July 25th, 2012
Parliamentary Network on Nuclear Disarmament (PNND) Visit to North Korea (DPRK) – Post Visit Speech Speech by and courtesy of Matt Robson. See Also: Post North Korea Visit Report. ******* HON MATTHEW ROBSON, FORMER MINISTER OF DISARMAMENT AND ARMS CONTROL OF NEW ZEALAND SPEECH TO KOREAN ASSOCIATION OF NEW ZEALAND FAIRWAY LODGE TAKAPUNA AUCKLAND 05 [...]
TriTV Interview – Selwyn Manning IVs Matt Robson on Foreign Affairs and the Value of Aid
Written by Selwyn Manning on Tuesday, July 17th, 2012
TriTV Interview – Selwyn Manning IVs Matt Robson on Foreign Affairs and the Value of Aid Beatson Interview – Selwyn Manning IVs Matt Robson on foreign affairs, New Zealand’s independent brand, and the value of development aid. Matt Robson is a former New Zealand Associate Minister of Foreign Affairs, and a minister responsible for NZAid [...]
Assessment: Partners But Not Allies – New Zealand and the US Sign The Washington Declaration
Written by Paul Buchanan on Wednesday, June 27th, 2012
Assessment: Partners But Not Allies – New Zealand and the US Sign The Washington Declaration Assessment/Analysis – By Dr Paul G. Buchanan. On June 20 New Zealand Defense Minister Jonathan Coleman and US Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta signed the Washington Declaration, which specifies priority areas of cooperation between the militaries of both countries.The Washington Declaration [...]
Intelligence Analytics: Conceptualizing Foreign Aid as an Instrument of Policy
Written by Paul Buchanan on Thursday, June 21st, 2012
Intelligence Analytics: Conceptualizing Foreign Aid as an Instrument of Policy Analysis – By Dr Paul G. Buchanan. Announcement that the European Union will direct another 19 million Euros on top of the 785 million Euros (NZ$ 1.3 billion) already allocated to climate change adaptation in the Pacific serves as a good reference point for discussion [...]
Interview: 95bFM’s Simon Maude IVs Selwyn Manning On The Washington Declaration
Written by Selwyn Manning on Thursday, June 21st, 2012
Interview: 95bFM’s Simon Maude IVs Selwyn Manning On New Zealand Signing the USA’s Washington Declaration Military Pact 95bFM The Wire Counter-Clockwise Bulletin – Recorded live on 21/06/12: Main Points – On Wednesday June 20, New Zealand’s Minister of Defence Jonathan Coleman met with the United States’ secretary of defense Leon Panetta at the Pentagon in [...]
Analysis: New Zealand’s United Nations Security Council Bid
Written by Paul Buchanan on Thursday, May 31st, 2012
Analysis: New Zealand’s United Nations Security Council Bid. 36th Parallel Assessments – Analysis By Dr Paul G. Buchanan Introduction:On May 24, 2012the foreign ministers of the United States of America and New Zealand met for bilateral meetings after the conclusion of the NATO Summit in Chicago. Afghanistan, Syria and Myanmar were topics of discussion, but [...]
Status of Forces Report Part 2: Military Professionalism in the South Pacific.
Written by Paul Buchanan on Friday, May 25th, 2012
Status of Forces Report Part 2: Military Professionalism in the South Pacific. 36th Parallel Assessment Series – By Paul G. Buchanan Introduction: In Part One of the the Status of Forces series, 36th Parallel Assessments offered an overview of typologies of military forces and civil-military relations. Designed as an introduction to the subject for readers [...]
Beatson Interview – Selwyn Manning IVs Henry Yamo on Papua New Guinea Instability
Written by 36th Parallel on Tuesday, May 22nd, 2012
Beatson Interview – Selwyn Manning IVs Henry Yamo on Papua New Guinea Instability Text Report by 36th Parallel & Pacific.Scoop.co.nz: Peter O’Neill and his supporters have defiantly declared their caretaker government in charge in the in lead-up to next month’s Papua New Guinea general election despite his administration being declared illegal by the Supreme Court. [...]
Interview: Glenn Williams IVs Paul Buchanan on the South China Sea Territorial Tensions
Written by 36th Parallel on Tuesday, May 22nd, 2012
Interview: Glenn Williams IVs Paul Buchanan on the South China Sea Territorial Tensions Analysis: Geopolitics and strategic balancing in the South China Sea. China has been asserting its territorial claims very aggressively and the United States and associated South East Asian countries have responded. Most recently China and the Philippines have clashed over the Scarborough [...]
Arms Smuggling Into PNG From Indonesia As Elections Draw Close
Written by 36th Parallel on Friday, May 11th, 2012
Arms Smuggling Into PNG From Indonesia As Elections Draw Close First published in the Post-Courier and Pacific Scoop (Pacific Media Centre) Report – By Frank Rai in Port Moresby. Police in Vanimo have confirmed a gun running syndicate operating between the Highlands region of Papua New Guinea and Indonesia is smuggling high-powered firearms into the [...]
36th-Parallel Regional News Round-Up – May 07 2012
Written by Selwyn Manning on Monday, May 7th, 2012
36th-Parallel Regional News Round-Up – May 07 2012 36th Parallel Assessments France/French Polynesia: Left-wing candidate François Hollande has defeated incumbent Nicolas Sarkozy in Sunday’s runoff, exit polls say, becoming the first Socialist to win a presidential election since François Mitterrand in 1988. According to Ipsos polling institute, the left-wing candidate took 51.7 percent of the [...]
Interview: Why Australia & NZ Have Taken A Softly Approach Over Papua New Guinea’s Crisis
Written by Selwyn Manning on Friday, May 4th, 2012
Interview: Glenn Williams IVs Selwyn Manning on Why Australia & NZ Have Taken A Softly Approach Over Papua New Guinea’s Crisis Introduction: As Papua New Guinea struggles to maintain order in the face of two clashing political factions, its two southern neighbors Australia and New Zealand are compelled to tread a soft diplomatic line rather [...]
36th-Parallel Regional News Round-Up – May 03 2012
Written by Selwyn Manning on Thursday, May 3rd, 2012
36th-Parallel Regional News Round-Up – May 03 2012 36th Parallel Assessments Australia/New Zealand/Papua New Guinea: – Analysis by Selwyn Manning – As Papua New Guinea struggles to maintain order in the face of two clashing political factions, its two southern neighbors Australia and New Zealand are compelled to tread a soft diplomatic line rather than [...]
The Papua New Guinea Crisis – Australia and New Zealand’s Challenge
Written by Selwyn Manning on Thursday, May 3rd, 2012
The Papua New Guinea Crisis – Australia and New Zealand’s Challenge Weekly Analysis – By Selwyn Manning. As Papua New Guinea struggles to maintain order in the face of two clashing political factions, its two southern neighbors Australia and New Zealand are compelled to tread a soft diplomatic line rather than risk destroying progressive rapprochement with [...]
36th-Parallel Regional News Round-Up – April 30 2012
Written by Selwyn Manning on Monday, April 30th, 2012
36th-Parallel Regional News Round-Up – April 30 2012 36th Parallel Assessments Fiji: Fiji’s Acting Prime Minister and Attorney General Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum has asked the Pacific Islands Forum Ministerial Contact Group to support the Bainimarama Government’s efforts to take the country to the 2014 general election. He made the comment in a statement as two foreign [...]
36th-Parallel Regional News Round-Up – April 27 2012
Written by Selwyn Manning on Friday, April 27th, 2012
36th-Parallel Regional News Round-Up – April 27 2012 36th Parallel Assessments Pacific Region: Analysis – By economist Professor Wadan Narsey – If this was a news release by a geologist, alarm bells would be ringing around the Pacific and international scientific community. But retitle it “Pacific politics tilting to PNG” and the alarm bells would [...]
36th-Parallel Regional News Round-Up – April 23 2012
Written by 36th Parallel on Monday, April 23rd, 2012
36th-Parallel Regional News Round-Up – April 23 2012 36th Parallel Assessments West Papua: More than 400 Bintang Kejora (Morning Star) flags have been flown by scores of people on a demonstration in Tanggal, Serui, West Papua, in dramatic defiance of an Indonesian law banning the public display of the pro-independence ensign. Media sources said the [...]
36th-Parallel Regional News Round-Up – April 22 2012
Written by Selwyn Manning on Sunday, April 22nd, 2012
36th-Parallel Regional News Round-Up – April 22 2012 36th Parallel Assessments Papua New Guinea: 36th Parallel Analysis & Forecast – Paul Buchanan writes the ongoing political crisis in Papua New Guinea (PNG) is what is known in comparative politics as an “impossible game:” all major political actors have the ability to veto their opponent’s projects [...]
36th-Parallel Regional News Round-Up – April 18 2012
Written by Selwyn Manning on Wednesday, April 18th, 2012
36th-Parallel Regional News Round-Up – April 18 2012 36th Parallel Assessments Timor Leste: Report – By Michael Bachelard in Dili – A military man recommended by the United Nations for criminal prosecution six years ago seems almost certain to become the new president of East Timor. Former commander of the armed forces Jose Maria de [...]
36th-Parallel Regional News Round-Up – April 17 2012
Written by Selwyn Manning on Tuesday, April 17th, 2012
36th-Parallel Regional News Round-Up – April 17 2012 36th Parallel Assessments 36th Parallel Security Assessment – by Paul Buchanan: Announcement that the Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG) has approved a Fijian proposal to create an armed Legion as a regional rapid response unit raises the issue of military professionalism in the South Pacific. Designed to respond [...]
36th-Parallel Regional News Round-Up – April 12 2012
Written by Selwyn Manning on Thursday, April 12th, 2012
36th-Parallel Regional News Round-Up – April 12 2012 36th Parallel Assessments South East Asia: The Philippines has sent a second ship to a stand-off with two Chinese ships in the South China Sea, even as both sides pledged diplomacy. A coast guard boat will join the country’s largest warship at the Scarborough Shoal, navy commander [...]
36th-Parallel Regional News Round-Up – April 11 2012
Written by 36th Parallel on Wednesday, April 11th, 2012
36th-Parallel Regional News Round-Up – April 11 2012 36th Parallel Assessments Pacific Region: 36th Parallel’s Paul G Buchanan writes that corruption can be defined in a number of ways, but whichever way you approach it the Pacific Region is suffering from its effects. Although it is unfortunate to say so, corruption is a major feature [...]
36th-Parallel Regional News Round-Up – April 02 2012
Written by Selwyn Manning on Monday, April 2nd, 2012
36th-Parallel Regional News Round-Up – April 02 2012 36th Parallel Assessments French Polynesia: 36th Parallel Analysis and Futures Forecast – By Paul Buchanan writes that in another post-colonial legacy, France’s budgetary cutbacks within the context of European Union crisis and austerity have had a repercussive effect on French Polynesia. This will be seen in the [...]
APEC Statement: APEC pushes forward 2012 priorities
Written by Selwyn Manning on Thursday, March 29th, 2012
APEC pushes forward 2012 priorities APEC Statement Issued by the APEC Committee on Trade and Investment Singapore, 28 March 2012 – APEC is taking further steps to enhance supply chain performance, improve collaboration on innovation and extend opportunities for more robust economic growth and prosperity in the Asia-Pacific. That is the aim of a diverse [...]