University of Otago international relations academic Prof Robert Patman said the Project Arcadia press release issued at the conclusion of a recent Five Eyes digital leadership summit in Washington that linked countries including New Zealand with the US government’s pursuit of global ‘‘peace through strength’’ was out of step with reality.
‘‘Alliances and security partnerships like Five Eyes are constructed to safeguard shared values and interests.
‘‘It is difficult to rationalise a closer military relationship with the Trump administration when such ingredients are clearly missing.’’
International security and intelligence analyst Dr Paul Buchanan said the description of the summit’s significance, which the DoW claimed marked a ‘‘pivotal acceleration in the joint war fighting capabilities ... among the Five Eyes alliance’’, was overly inflated.
‘‘One is that it is a phenomenal piss-take of the first order.
‘‘The other is that Pete Hegseth and his minions are talking s....’’
On May 11, the DoW, headed by Hegseth, a former Fox News presenter, issued a statement about the Combined Digital Leadership Summit (CDLS) that concluded two days earlier.
It said the gathering of dozens of military representatives from Five Eyes intelligence alliance nations — the US, New Zealand, Australia, the United Kingdom and Canada — had committed to use artificial intelligence (AI) to realise the goals of Project Arcadia; developing superior information technology to deter global aggression.
The statement included DoW chief information officer Kirsten Davies’ assessment of the project.
‘‘It is not merely an IT project, but the operational imperative for our time — the digital backbone that will empower our war fighters with the information dominance they need to win,’’ Ms Davies said.
Prof Patman was concerned Project Arcadia was being driven by an ‘‘America First’’ government whose actions did not match words in the summit press release telling Five Eyes partners they could depend on the US.
He said the Trump administration had repeatedly threatened to invade Canada, had publicly criticised Britain and Australia for not being supportive enough of its illegal attacks on Iran and had actively opposed core principles of New Zealand’s foreign policy, which was based on respect for international law and multilateral institutions such as the United Nations and the World Trade Organization.
‘‘The Trump administration does not act as if it is an ally of New Zealand.
‘‘The danger is, therefore, that Project Arcadia is a digital framework to mobilise international support to boost American efforts to be a dominant superpower.’’
Dr Buchanan said the press release made bold statements but lacked substance.
It was intended for an American audience.
‘‘Project Arcadia is the latest reinvention of the wheel known as interoperability, except now it is focused on integrating AI into the Five Eyes information-sharing network.
‘‘The hyperbole is completely out of proportion to what they were doing ... It is nothing of significance.
‘‘It’s just a confab of this particular subgroup.’’
In an emailed response, Mr Penk said New Zealand had long pursued its security in partnership with other countries.
‘‘This is one of the tenets of our defence policy and so I would agree with the comment made in general terms,’’ he said.
Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters was asked what role he saw New Zealand playing in the US vision of global ‘‘peace through strength’’.
The question was referred to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman who said ‘‘peace through strength’’ was a US policy objective and New Zealand policy objectives were based on New Zealand interests.
‘‘It is in New Zealand’s interest to collaborate with our Five Eyes partners on critical defence infrastructure,’’ the spokeswoman said.
The Government Security Communications Bureau and New Zealand Security Intelligence Service are the primary agencies involved in the Five Eyes alliance.
The ODT asked what involvement either organisation had in Project Arcadia and how important it was to the security of the country and all New Zealanders.
An emailed response said the queries related to New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) matters and therefore ‘‘we have nothing further to add’’.
An NZDF spokesman said Brigadier Esther Harrop was one of six personnel who attended the summit.
The main focus of the event was aligning existing national digital initiatives, the spokesman said.
‘‘The NZDF will play a full role in the project, but for national security reasons we are unable to elaborate on how, or which tools will be used.’’
