The two nations, which fought together in many of America's wars and established the Australia-New Zealand-United States (ANZUS) alliance in 1951, are once again close security partners in the Asia Pacific and beyond. Several organizations and groups, some involving Members of Congress, help promote bilateral ties between the United States and New Zealand, including the United States-New Zealand Council in Washington, DC, and its counterpart, the New Zealand-United States Council in Wellington; the Friends of New Zealand Congressional Caucus and its New Zealand parliamentary counterpart; and the more recent Pacific Partnership Forum. The degree to which the Wellington Declaration was able to move the relationship forward is attested to by the 2012 Washington Declaration on Defense Cooperation, which consolidated the developing relationship and opened the way for further enhanced strategic dialogue and defense cooperation. New Zealand has also joined the United States in the annual U.S.-led Pacific Partnership exercise. Also articulated in New Zealand's National Security System document of May 2011 are concerns with structural shifts in global economic power. In articulating New Zealand's interests in the South Pacific, the White Paper states:
It is in New Zealand's interest to play a leadership role in the South Pacific for the foreseeable future, acting in concert with our South Pacific neighbours. This has in part been influenced, as noted above, by New Zealand's increasing Pacifika population as well as by New Zealand's national interests in the region. New Zealand and the Asia Pacific

Recent New Zealand governments have concluded that the country must invest more time and energy into strengthening its ties with Asia and that it needs to look to new ways to build a shared future in the Asia Pacific region and increase trade and investment linkages. There are a range of views in New Zealand on the rise of China, its implications for New Zealand, and the way New Zealand should position itself within the shifting geopolitical and trade dynamics of the region. In recent years, it appears that China has increased its aid to and engagement with the Pacific to pursue other interests as well. –Prime Minister John Key
If the United States and New Zealand have largely common values, then why did these two nations, in the period after 1984, have such distance in their relationship? The two nations' values, and from these their national identities, have, however, evolved differently over time. Attention to these differences can also lead to better understanding of both nations. The government's desire to return to closer ties with the United States coincided with, and was facilitated by, the Obama's Administration's move to rebalance U.S. involvement in the Indo-Pacific region. As a result, New Zealand will likely focus its efforts in the South Pacific as its primary area of strategic interest. By agreeing to let past differences over nuclear policy no longer define the relationship, the United States shifted its approach to New Zealand in a way that demonstrates respect for New Zealand's nuclear policy and its independence in foreign affairs and opened the way for a resumption of closer security cooperation. The above discussion of developing security cooperation between the United States and New Zealand raises a number of questions that may be of interest to Members of Congress interested in oversight of the Administration's rebalancing to Asia strategy.
As part of its strategy to rebalance toward Asia the Obama Administration has greatly expanded cooperation and reestablished close ties with New Zealand. Changes in the security realm have been particularly notable as the two sides have restored close defense cooperation, which was suspended in the mid-1980s due to differences over nuclear policy. The two nations are now working together increasingly closely in the area of defense and security cooperation while also seeking to coordinate efforts in the South Pacific. The United States and New Zealand are also working together to help shape emerging architectures in the Asia-Pacific such as the 11-nation Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) free trade agreement negotiation in which New Zealand has played a key role.
Members of Congress interested in oversight of the Obama Administration's rebalancing to Asia strategy and the United States' presence in the South Pacific as well as Members associated with the Friends of New Zealand Congressional Caucus may be interested in these new developments in the bilateral relationship. Congressional interest has also been demonstrated through Members' participation in the Pacific Partnership Forum with New Zealand.
In discussing how the United States is updating alliances to address new demands and "building new partnerships," then-Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton cited in November 2011 the outreach effort to New Zealand, among other countries, as "part of a broader effort to ensure a more comprehensive approach to American strategy and engagement in the region." She added that "We are asking these emerging partners to join us in shaping and participating in a rules-based regional and global order." It is of interest to note that New Zealand, a nation that like Australia has fought alongside the United States in most of its wars, is now being reconceived as a "new" partner.
While the current right-of-center government of Prime Minister John Key has moved forward in restoring bilateral ties with the United States, some analysts in New Zealand are concerned that if this trend is taken too far it may threaten New Zealand's trade interests with China. Others in New Zealand are also concerned that moving too far too fast with the United States may jeopardize New Zealand's independence in foreign policy.
The Obama Administration's move away from old restrictions on bilateral ties, as demonstrated by the opening of U.S. naval ports to New Zealand ships, will likely continue to move bilateral ties forward. This desire on both sides to continue to strengthen relations was demonstrated by the 2010 Wellington Declaration and the 2012 Washington Declaration. In the view of many, the improvement in bilateral relations marked by these two agreements will better enable both nations to navigate the shifting geopolitical dynamics of both the South Pacific and the larger the Asia Pacific region, including the rise of China. New Zealand's national identity, values, and economic interests will all likely influence its external engagement in the years ahead. Values, as well as interests, have played a role in explaining past differences between the United States and New Zealand and why the two nations are once again close Pacific partners.