Australian–New Zealand Relations and Commitments to Asian Conflicts 1950–1972

Although bound together by geographical location, historic ties, and cultural affinity, Australia and New Zealand have often had a fraught relationship. Participation in a British security framework mitigated the effects of the imbalance in size between the two countries. But New Zealand’s efforts to assert itself within this system encouraged a competition in patriotism with Australia over commitments to wars up to the Korean War. When the British framework weakened, New Zealand hesitated to seek a similar status within its alliance with the United States. Far from competing with Australia, it resisted pressure to commit troops to the U.S.-led effort in South Vietnam, only to find itself increasingly being dragged along by its trans-Tasman neighbor.