Paradigm shift

“New Zealand is very much within the US ‘Sphere of Influence” and [Hillary] Clinton just confirmed it by signing the high-profile Wellington Declaration,” Balaji Chandramohan writes for the Diplomatic Courier. “This is the first step in the right direction towards annual security talks of the type that take place between Australia and the US and which underpin the decades-old Australia, New Zealand, United States Security Treaty (ANZUS) alliance of which New Zealand was a member until the break-up in the mid-198s. Now the big question is “what’s the reason for this paradigm shift?” The article goes on to suggest that: “The Obama administration has understood the need to contain the influence of China in Asia Pacific. The administration’s paradigm shift occurred this year when China decided to behave in a more aggressive way in South China Sea and East Asia. The South Pacific is no exception as China is courting Fiji’s military dictator for the same reason; to gain a foothold in the region. As a result, the U.S. is strengthening old alliances in New Zealand and Australia by revisiting the ANZUS treaty. Could this be the start of a “Cold War” in the South Pacific between the U.S. and China? Only time will tell.