(MENAFN- Asia Times)
This article was originally published by Pacific Forum . It is republished with permission.
In June 2024, Japan and New Zealand announced that they had reached a general consensus on an Information Security Agreement. While details on the exact nature of the agreement are yet to be published, it might be safe to assume that this is a step toward further bilateral security cooperation, given New Zealand's increasingly proactive approach to the emerging regional security architecture .
However, it's important to bear in mind that intelligence sharing does not necessarily equate to security policy alignment.
The New Zealand Intelligence Community consists of three agencies:
the National Assessment Bureau in the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet for intelligence assessment;
the New Zealand Intelligence Security Services (SIS) for domestic security intelligence; and
the Government Communications and Security Bureau for signals intelligence.
New Zealand has increased its engagements in Asia, especially since the UK joined the European Union, as pointed out by both academics and practitioners . At the same time, New Zealand has never given up being a member of the Five Eyes community, although it retreated from the 1951 ANZUS Treaty with the US and Australia in the 1980s.
One of the institutional strengths of the Five Eyes framework is that the countries hold an annual summit as well as defense ministerial meetings, where they set their security agendas, coordinate their stances, and share mindsets.
Still, despite their shared views, the New Zealand government occasionally deviates from the discourse of the other member countries. A recent and stark example would be 2021, when New Zealand stepped back from participation in joint condemnation against China's treatment of its Uighur Muslim minority by the US, Canada, the UK, and Australia.
This is especially at odds with the fact that the Five Eyes community only recently declared
a more expanded relationship
with other member countries to include the diplomatic sphere.
Thus, a question: What enables intelligence sharing to contribute to policy alignment?
Intelligence-sharing platforms and agreements often foster shared worldviews. This is the result of similar types of analysis on similar information leading to similar conclusions in different countries, enhanced by the knowledge that one's partners share the same conclusions.
To establish such mechanisms first requires the recognition of common security interests, as well as building trust in how each partner country handles confidential information.
While we can assume that such agreements are mutually beneficial, the existence of an intelligence-sharing mechanism alone does not necessarily mean their regional security policy will be aligned among participants.
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