The days when New Zealand saw the UK as the 'Mother 'Nation' have totally gone; consigned to the annals of history. That time in our history really went south when Great Britain failed us at Singapore in the Second World War. Yes, we still have excellent ties and cultural links with dear old England but the reality is that we are a Pacific nation with ever increasing ties to Asia, China in particular. This new reality will need to be reflected in our diplomatic relationships with the new economic giants we trade with. That is going to be difficult to 'swallow,' when some of these nations, particularly China follow policies that we have traditionally found hard to relate to namely those issues around human rights. Will we have to kow tow to China now and put aside our 'discomfort' in the name of economic survival? Yes, Australia will continue to be our ally in all sense of the word and the USA will remain in our sphere of interests. Maybe it is time for us to pursue a 'non-aligned' foreign policy stance and not get dragged into every war that our former economic masters have led us. It is a 'brave new world,' one that we must adapt to and perhaps take a less than holly ground stance about what constitutes what is 'right for us.' Scary thought eh.
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