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Article: New Zealand marches to its own beat; Australia takes up military slack for pacifist, anti-nuke neighbor.(WORLD)(BRIEFING: ASIA-PACIFIC)
- Article from:
- The Washington Times (Washington, DC)
- Article date:
- May 27, 2005
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2005 The Washington Times LLC. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Byline: Janaki Kremmer, THE WASHINGTON TIMES
SYDNEY, Australia - In a region isolated by distance from the rest of the world but close to failing states like the Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea, New Zealand's reluctance to shoulder more of the defense burden in the South Pacific has been a source of irritation for Australia for more than two decades.
"The fact that New Zealand never committed [itself] to the levels of defense spending required for keeping up a full range of hardware for all capabilities was what gave Australia so much tension," said Hugh White, professor of strategic studies at the Australian National University.
"It had ...