“I think Anwar has done an exceptionally good job over the last year,” Luxon said in an interview with FMT.
“It’s been a very challenging year for the world, if you think about the conflicts that have been intractable and have been going on for a long period of time.
“There’s been huge uncertainty with respect to the international trading environment, and some of the pain and suffering that the tariffs have been causing.”
Luxon said Asean’s convening power, particularly its ability to bring all parties to the table, and Malaysia’s efforts to forge new linkages—such as the Asean-Gulf Cooperation Council-China Summit—have been key to strengthening the region’s economic partnerships.
“In that context, being able to convene trade ministers to reaffirm the international rules-based system—how we conduct ourselves in our trading relationships—is very important.
“It’s crucial that we continue to uphold that rules-based system,” he said.
Luxon also highlighted the growing bilateral cooperation in security and defence between New Zealand and the Asean member states.
“It’s important because if you don’t have a stable, peaceful region, you end up with conflict, and that conflict has huge consequences economically, and causes huge pain and suffering to people, and that’s not right.”
Enduring partnerships
On defence cooperation, Luxon said New Zealand remains firmly committed to regional security frameworks, highlighting his country’s Five Power Defence Arrangement with Malaysia, Singapore, Australia, and the UK as “very enduring”.
The defence pact was first launched in 1971 among the Commonwealth countries, enabling members to consult each other immediately in the face of threats or armed attacks.
“There’s an opportunity for us to continue building and expanding that connectivity between our defence ministers, along with increasing levels of interoperability,” he said.
He added that the cooperation extends beyond training and joint exercises, signalling deeper strategic engagement.
Luxon is also looking to greater regional cooperation in responding to natural disasters, lamenting that such events “sadly happen far too often”.
He said the NZ$2 billion defence budget this year reflects his country’s commitment to strengthening its security partnerships, which could also lessen dependence on allies such as the US.
He stressed, however, that New Zealand continues to respect differing national values and remains focused on following through with its defence commitments.
“Each country has to think about their own values, and (partners’) values, then you have to actually follow through with some actions.
“In our case, we’ve always advocated very strongly for our values and our independent foreign policy, but we need to make sure we back that up with a proper investment,” he said.