Foreign Affairs Minister Nanaia Mahuta has met with her Chinese counterpart face-to-face for the first time at the East Asia and ASEAN summits in Cambodia.
Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta looks on at the 12th East Asia Summit Foreign Ministers’ Meeting during the 55th ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Phnom Penh, Cambodia on August 5, 2022. Photo: Tang Chhin Sothy / AFP
On Friday, ASEAN ministers - from Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam - hosted a broader international gathering for the plenary sessions of the East Asia Summit, including counterparts from the United States, China, Russia, Japan, Britain and Australia.
The ASEAN gathering has been overshadowed by tensions over developments around Taiwan following US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi's solidarity trip to self-ruled the island this week, which has infuriated Beijing.
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations had warned on Thursday of the risk of miscalculations in the Taiwan Strait and "serious confrontation" among major powers, though a communique on Friday did not mention Taiwan.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov walked out of the plenary meeting when their Japanese counterpart spoke, a person in the room said.
China had earlier expressed displeasure over a G7 statement - of which Japan is a member of - urging it to resolve tension over Taiwan peacefully.
Illustrating the tensions over Taiwan, Wang arrived for ASEAN's gala dinner late on Thursday, then walked out of the venue just moments after, according to Reuters journalists.
Wang and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken have refused to meet each other in Phnom Penh.
In a statement, Mahuta said she and Wang acknowledged 50 years of diplomatic relations between the two countries, and discussed trade, agriculture, climate change, and the environment.
During the session, she had raised New Zealand's concerns about human rights in Xinjiang, the erosion of rights and freedoms in Hong Kong, the Myanmar military coup, and the record number of ballistic missile tests by North Korea.
"The minister pointed to the need to look beyond the 'firsts' to a mature relationship that respects New Zealand's independent foreign policy," the statement read.
The ASEAN foreign ministers also highlighted the problems in Myanmar in a communique, saying they were "deeply disappointed" by the limited progress made by military rulers in implementing a peace agreement to end the conflict in the country.
Myanmar is an ASEAN member but its generals, who have defended recent executions as necessary, are barred from attending its meetings until progress in the ASEAN peace plan is demonstrated.
Mahuta also noted New Zealand's interest in peace and stability in the region, including across the Taiwan Strait, and the need for de-escalation, diplomacy and dialogue.
"The minister urged China to be clear, in line with its commitment to the UN Charter, that it does not support Russia's unlawful aggression against Ukraine, and encouraged China to use its access and influence with Russia to promote a return to diplomacy."
On the Pacific, she spoke of "Pacific-led responses to Pacific priorities", including in the field of security.
Mahuta has accepted an invitation to visit China when conditions allow.
- RNZ / Reuters