Prime Minister Christopher Luxon in Vietnam. Photo: Giles Dexter/RNZ
The Prime Minister is leaving Vietnam with one thorny diplomatic issue not even put on the table.
Christopher Luxon has moved his Vietnam mission from politics to business, eager to see how the new Comprehensive Strategic Partnership can help boost economic growth.
Police still meeting in Vietnam
Luxon's political meetings in Vietnam have all been about "growth, growth, growth".
But one thing not discussed at all in his political talks was New Zealand's attempt to extradite two Vietnamese officials, suspected of indecently assaulting two women at a Wellington restaurant last year.
New Zealand police were unable to lay charges, as the suspects had already left the country.
But despite his frequent face-time with political leaders in Vietnam, Luxon said he could not get involved in the case.
"It's important that I don't prejudice that independent, ongoing police investigation. What I'm comfortable with is that our systems are engaging well on the issues," he said.
But Luxon did confirm police were still heavily involved, and had recently visited Vietnam.
"Yes, as recently as I think a week ago, they were here engaging on that particular issue with their counterparts here in the police system here as well."
Naval visit not a provocation
Luxon's last day in Hanoi involved cultural visits, including a go on a ceremonial thunder drum.
He has warned about other countries banging the drum in an increasingly contested Indo-Pacific.
At an ASEAN forum on Wednesday, he called for more transparency as militaries modernise.
The new upgraded partnership with Vietnam includes a commitment to more co-operation on defence, with Luxon raising the possibility of sending a New Zealand naval warship to Vietnam by the end of the year.
That would mean sailing through the South China Sea, an area of increasing tension between China and the Philippines, and also China and Taiwan.
But Luxon denied it was a provocation.
"It's really a friendship visit, it's good all round for the relationship," he said.
"It's well-established, normal practice. What we've done in recent times and what we're proposing at the end of this year. It's very normal, but it's part of us having a CSP arrangement, which is a deeper and broader relationship."
Photo: Giles Dexter/RNZ
Defence analysts Paul Buchanan, director of 36th Parallel, said while it was not unusual, the context of Chinese ships sailing in the Tasman Sea meant a naval ship in the South China Sea could raise eyebrows.
"With that as a backdrop, to then announce that New Zealand would be willing to entertain visiting the Vietnamese by the end of the year with a warship, which is a military-to-military connection, that is military diplomacy, not traditional civilian diplomacy, that might ruffle some feathers in a measure that it otherwise would not have in Beijing," he said.
However, Buchanan said New Zealand had amiable relations with China, who would likely see it as small-fry.
Similarly, the director of Strategic Studies at Victoria University Professor David Capie stressed sending ships to the South China Sea was nothing new, and New Zealand was being transparent.
"That's a way that New Zealand demonstrates its support for the principle of freedom of navigation and respect for the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, which is obviously vitally important for a country with so much maritime domain around it," he said.
Companies keen to get involved in partnership
Friday is the final day of the Prime Minister's visit, with politics done and dusted as he tries to sell the benefits of the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.
One company that had already opened doors was Orion Health. Its chief executive Brad Porter said the partnership meant he could finally do business with the Vietnamese government.
"To be able to do these big health data infrastructure projects, you need to be working with the government, you've got to be trusted by the government, and I think [the partnership] will be a good platform for that," he said.
Starboard Maritime Intelligence's Trent Fulcher was similarly keen to see how his company could get more involved.
"Vietnam and the region have immediate problems around illegal fishing, maritime border security, and protection of critical assets. It's very, very topical right now. So we need to move at pace to be able to put better protections in place, and this partnership will help us get the relationships, get the agreements we need in place faster."
The final day in Ho Chi Minh City will see more business visits and a food demonstration at Fonterra, with the Prime Minister set to swap his suit for a chef's apron.
