The papers reflect on how the context of New Zealand-Asia relationships have changed since 2003, what has been achieved and what could be done differently going forward. These papers informed a series of four hui held over the course of 2022. More than 25 people attended each hui, sharing their perspectives on the themes and contributing to recommendations on how New Zealand can best engage with Asia in the years ahead.
In this paper prepared for Seriously Asia Revisited, authors Professor David Capie and Bethan K. Greener examine how the political and security situation in Asia has changed since 2003, and the implications for New Zealand’s engagement with the region. The hui for this theme was held on Friday 19 August 2022 in Wellington.
About Seriously Asia Revisited
In 2003, at the request of then-Prime Minister Helen Clark, the Asia New Zealand Foundation — then known as Asia 2000 — ran the Seriously Asia initiative. It was a project designed to inject new ideas and energy into New Zealand’s connections across Asia. The initiative canvassed views from across the country and in Asia; helped to grow New Zealanders’ understanding of the region; and developed a set of recommendations to guide New Zealand’s engagement with Asia in the years that followed.
In recognition of the far-reaching changes that had taken place in New Zealand and Asia over two decades, in 2022 the Asia New Zealand Foundation launched Seriously Asia Revisited. This project brought together a cross-section of informed voices from across Aotearoa to discuss how best position New Zealand for success in Asia in the coming decades.
Seriously Asia Revisited is structured around the themes of the original Seriously Asia in 2003. As well as Politics and Security, the themes are: