FOREIGN AFFAIRS
Houthi Red Sea attacks: Judith Collins rubbishes Green Party's stance against New Zealand sending troops to Middle East
Defence Minister Judith Collins is rubbishing comments by the Green Party about New Zealand deploying troops to the Middle East.
On Tuesday, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon announced a six-member Defence Force deployment to the Red Sea to help "uphold maritime security" amid attacks on commercial and naval ships by Houthi rebels from Yemen.
The deployment was a "continuation of New Zealand's long history of defending freedom of navigation both in the Middle East and closer to home", Luxon said.
But a statement from the Greens did not support the deployment, with co-leaders Marama Davidson and James Shaw calling it "deeply disturbing".
Labour also disagreed with the deployment, with the party's foreign affairs spokesperson David Parker telling RNZ it had "shades of Iraq" about it.
But the Defence Minister has hit back at the Opposition.
"Well, I think Marama [Davidson] and the Greens shouldn't really be giving anybody advice on defence and foreign affairs," Collins told RNZ's Morning Report on Wednesday.
"I think it is very important that we look at New Zealand's best interests."
Collins was asked if this deployment was a shift away from previous New Zealand positions on foreign affairs.
She told Morning Report New Zealand had been involved in the Middle East for a "very long time".
"The fact that we've had people involved in Operation Pukeko in the Red Sea since 2013 should tell us that this is not something new," Collins said.
"We need to assist, wherever possible, that the right military targets are taken out. I think you need to also remember that the Houthis have been given a number of warnings - very serious warnings."
Greens label NZ sending troops to Middle East 'deeply disturbing'; Labour says it has 'shades of Iraq'
"The Houthi attacks are illegal, they are unacceptable and they are profoundly destabilising."
Who are the Houthis?
Washington and London first launched strikes against Houthi military targets in Yemen in response to the movement's attacks on ships in the Red Sea earlier this month.
The Houthis date back to the late 1990s, when the Houthi family in far north Yemen set up a religious revival movement for the Zaydi sect of Shi'ite Islam, which had once ruled Yemen but whose northern heartland had become impoverished and marginalised.
As friction with the government grew, they fought a series of guerrilla wars with the national army and a brief border conflict with Sunni Saudi Arabia.
In 2014, civil war broke out when Yemen's capital Sanaa was seized by the Houthis.
Worried by the growing influence of Shi'ite Iran along its border, Saudi Arabia intervened as the head of a Western-backed coalition in March 2015 in support of the Saudi-backed government.
The Houthis established control over much of the north and other big population centres, while the internationally recognised government based itself in Aden.
Yemen has enjoyed more than a year of relative calm amid a UN-led peace push. Saudi Arabia has been holding talks with the Houthis in a bid to exit the war.
But the Houthi attacks on Israel have increased the risks of conflict for Saudi Arabia.
The Houthis are one part of what has been called the "Axis of Resistance" - an anti-Israel and anti-Western alliance of regional militias (Hamas, Hezbollah and Houthis) backed by Iran.
Its slogan is "Death to America, Death to Israel, curse the Jews and victory to Islam".
The Houthis have said their attacks on shipping routes in the Red Sea are a show of support for the Palestinians and Hamas, the Islamist group that controls Gaza, in its war against Israel.
But Collins told RNZ Aotearoa's action in the Red Sea should not be conflated with Wellington's stance on the Israel-Gaza war.
The New Zealand Government has been calling for a humanitarian truce, humanitarian pauses and the urgent need for further steps towards a sustainable ceasefire in Gaza.
The Houthi attacks have disrupted global commerce, forcing international shipping to take the long route around South Africa to avoid being struck. The increase in delivery costs is stoking fears it could trigger a fresh bout of global inflation.
Australia, Bahrain, Canada and the Netherlands are also supporting the operation against the Houthis and the US has sought to present the air strikes as part of an international effort to restore the free flow of trade in a key route between Europe and Asia that accounts for about 15 percent of the world's shipping traffic.
Reuters / Newshub.
www.newshub.co.nz
Houthi Red Sea attacks: Judith Collins rubbishes Green Party's stance against New Zealand sending troops to Middle East
Defence Minister Judith Collins is rubbishing comments by the Green Party about New Zealand deploying troops to the Middle East.
On Tuesday, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon announced a six-member Defence Force deployment to the Red Sea to help "uphold maritime security" amid attacks on commercial and naval ships by Houthi rebels from Yemen.
The deployment was a "continuation of New Zealand's long history of defending freedom of navigation both in the Middle East and closer to home", Luxon said.
But a statement from the Greens did not support the deployment, with co-leaders Marama Davidson and James Shaw calling it "deeply disturbing".
Labour also disagreed with the deployment, with the party's foreign affairs spokesperson David Parker telling RNZ it had "shades of Iraq" about it.
But the Defence Minister has hit back at the Opposition.
"Well, I think Marama [Davidson] and the Greens shouldn't really be giving anybody advice on defence and foreign affairs," Collins told RNZ's Morning Report on Wednesday.
"I think it is very important that we look at New Zealand's best interests."
Collins was asked if this deployment was a shift away from previous New Zealand positions on foreign affairs.
She told Morning Report New Zealand had been involved in the Middle East for a "very long time".
"The fact that we've had people involved in Operation Pukeko in the Red Sea since 2013 should tell us that this is not something new," Collins said.
"We need to assist, wherever possible, that the right military targets are taken out. I think you need to also remember that the Houthis have been given a number of warnings - very serious warnings."
Greens label NZ sending troops to Middle East 'deeply disturbing'; Labour says it has 'shades of Iraq'
"The Houthi attacks are illegal, they are unacceptable and they are profoundly destabilising."
Who are the Houthis?
Washington and London first launched strikes against Houthi military targets in Yemen in response to the movement's attacks on ships in the Red Sea earlier this month.
The Houthis date back to the late 1990s, when the Houthi family in far north Yemen set up a religious revival movement for the Zaydi sect of Shi'ite Islam, which had once ruled Yemen but whose northern heartland had become impoverished and marginalised.
As friction with the government grew, they fought a series of guerrilla wars with the national army and a brief border conflict with Sunni Saudi Arabia.
In 2014, civil war broke out when Yemen's capital Sanaa was seized by the Houthis.
Worried by the growing influence of Shi'ite Iran along its border, Saudi Arabia intervened as the head of a Western-backed coalition in March 2015 in support of the Saudi-backed government.
The Houthis established control over much of the north and other big population centres, while the internationally recognised government based itself in Aden.
Yemen has enjoyed more than a year of relative calm amid a UN-led peace push. Saudi Arabia has been holding talks with the Houthis in a bid to exit the war.
But the Houthi attacks on Israel have increased the risks of conflict for Saudi Arabia.
The Houthis are one part of what has been called the "Axis of Resistance" - an anti-Israel and anti-Western alliance of regional militias (Hamas, Hezbollah and Houthis) backed by Iran.
Its slogan is "Death to America, Death to Israel, curse the Jews and victory to Islam".
The Houthis have said their attacks on shipping routes in the Red Sea are a show of support for the Palestinians and Hamas, the Islamist group that controls Gaza, in its war against Israel.
But Collins told RNZ Aotearoa's action in the Red Sea should not be conflated with Wellington's stance on the Israel-Gaza war.
The New Zealand Government has been calling for a humanitarian truce, humanitarian pauses and the urgent need for further steps towards a sustainable ceasefire in Gaza.
The Houthi attacks have disrupted global commerce, forcing international shipping to take the long route around South Africa to avoid being struck. The increase in delivery costs is stoking fears it could trigger a fresh bout of global inflation.
Australia, Bahrain, Canada and the Netherlands are also supporting the operation against the Houthis and the US has sought to present the air strikes as part of an international effort to restore the free flow of trade in a key route between Europe and Asia that accounts for about 15 percent of the world's shipping traffic.
Reuters / Newshub.
Collins rubbishes Greens' stance against New Zealand sending troops to Middle East
"Marama [Davidson] and the Greens shouldn't really be giving anybody advice on defence and foreign affairs."
www.newshub.co.nz
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