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South Pacific Independent News Network · 06-12-2021, 02:42 PM

Year 18 | 12 June 2021

JUNE 2021 CABINET ELECTION
MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS INTERVIEW
Moderator: James D. Halpert | Participant: Jay Coop

Welcome to the June 2021 Minister of Foreign Affairs Interview!

I am James Halpert and I will be the moderator of this interview with Jay Coop, candidate for Minister of Foreign Affairs. This interview is sponsored by the South Pacific Independent News Network.

The format of this interview will consist of a single section:

• The only section will feature questions on the candidate’s qualifications, intended policies and their vision for the coming term.

The candidate is asked to clearly mark the end of their answers so that I may know when to move on to the next question and to answer no later than 3 minutes after a question has been asked.
Opening Remarks

[Jay Coop] Thank you to SPINN for hosting this interview. In anticipation of an opening statement, I have prepared one in advance. I wish I could have debated with Qaz, but it couldn't be helped. Nevertheless, I'm happy to have this interview as a candidate for a position of great consequence, that position being Minister of Foreign Affairs.

The South Pacific has come a long way in its history, and we have reached new heights as a region that has resulted in us having more responsibilities than ever before in the global landscape. The choices we make in our elections, especially in selecting a MoFA, carry many implications in interregional politics.

In electing a MoFA, we need someone who can be a visionary and act as a pragmatist at times, which is why I am running. I believe that I can deliver a balance between being a visionary and a pragmatist, leading the revolutionary institution that is the Partnership for Sovereignty, and being conscious of how and when we exercise our regional power.

On 17 July 2019, the South Pacific instantly became the largest defender region in NS when the Assembly passed the defender resolution. Ever since formally becoming defenders, the South Pacific has led the charge for an increasingly integrated defendersphere, and that is where our work continues. If elected, I will work on building and maintaining the PfS.

This time last year, I successfully campaigned to become MoFA, and I hope that I can return to serving in the interests of the South Pacific, a region that I have called home for the past seven years. In 2014, this region was weaker and less influential, but we are stronger than ever before, and we can afford to swing our weight around and strive to build a world in our vision. Let's seize that opportunity together.

What role do you think the Ministry of Foreign Affairs should play within the region? Should it be a policy-intensive institution, a staff-oriented institution, or is there a middle ground somewhere in there?

[Jay Coop] I have to go with the latter. There is a middle ground between policy and staff that can be synthesized to develop a ministry that can produce a strong and effective foreign policy for the South Pacific and acknowledge the role that the ambassador corps plays in conveying our regional developments and our positions and providing the minister with useful updates on regional developments abroad to allow for the implementation of an informed foreign policy.

You mention ambassadors in your campaign, and again in your above answer. How well is the Ambassador Corps working? That is, are its members truly learning the ropes or is there more that can be done to ensure they become the future of the ministry?

[Jay Coop] If I recall correctly, Roavin established a new precedent of bringing along ambassadors to diplomatic conversations with his counterparts in other regions, and I believe that this new precedent would be critical in giving ambassadors the knowledge and experience necessary to become ministers themselves in the future. If elected, I will continue this precedent to make sure that our ambassadors can feel confident once they take on the mantle.

The region's foreign policy has shifted significantly throughout the years, from its position as a leading Independent region in 2012 to a leading defender region in 2021. While treaties with regions like Europeia, Balder and The New Inquisition have come and gone, the Aurora Alliance remains, even though certain tensions from the quorum raiding incident seem to remain. Is there a future to the alliance, or is it likely to be another casualty in this foreign policy shift?

[Jay Coop] The future of the Aurora Alliance is uncertain, and I find it troubling to even say that about one of our oldest surviving alliances. As I stated in my campaign thread, our decision to become defenders brought about consequential change to our foreign policy. I do not state that as if it is a bad thing because I still believe that it was the right choice for us to pass the defender resolution. That being said, what has happened in our relationship with Independent regions, especially The North Pacific, was a natural consequence of that decision. There is still hope that the relationship can be salvaged, but the jury is still out on whether this will be accomplished.

While circumstances can always change, are there any considerations that you consider key to any assessment of the future of the alliance? What exactly would be your thought process in that regard?

[Jay Coop] If the dispute with The North Pacific is not resolved by end of this term, then the responsibility will inevitably fall upon the upcoming Cabinet to do so. I believe that there is enough room for a compromise, and I will work with the Prime Minister and the Minister of Defence to decide what we are willing or not willing to compromise in our negotiations with The North Pacific. As stated before, no compromise can be reached without a full-throated retraction of the January statement in part or in whole. That is my minimum.

The issue of the region's military presence surfaced in the Minister of Defence Debate earlier this week. Do you think that there is work to be done in that front, particularly as it relates to the South Pacific being a credible leading actor for a defender military alliance?

[Jay Coop] Yes, we should have a discussion with our friends in the PfS as to whether we are willing to expand the organization's scope, which means adding a military alliance component to the PfS through an opt-in treaty. If that is a conversation that our partners are not willing to have within the PfS, then I will try pursuing it through other avenues, particularly in parallel to the bloc. The work that we need to do is at least have that discussion.

What about the region's own military presence? Is the South Pacific where it wants to be in terms of its military, or would you hope to coordinate a specific strategy with the Ministry of Defence?

[Jay Coop] I think that is a question more appropriate for the Minister of Defence candidates, but I am willing to pursue a foreign policy with input from the MoD as to how our foreign policy decisions will affect the SPSF. Through open communication and collaboration can the Cabinet put forward a nuanced and well-working policy. I look forward to working with the Cabinet on these matters, especially the MoD on policies that affect the SPSF.

How do you envision relations with regions that are not part of the defender world? Is there a particular role that you would like to see them play in the region's foreign policy?

[Jay Coop] I believe that we should maintain relationships with Independent or otherwise unaligned regions. A region unaligned today is a region that could be a defender tomorrow, so I hope to build on existing relationships or foster new ones based on that idea. Some regions may hold steadfast on the so-called Independent ideology, but some of them are our closest allies outside the defendersphere, and I see no issue with maintaining our relationship with such regions.

You mention that "a region unaligned today is a region that could be a defender tomorrow". Does that mean that the ultimate goal to relations with unaligned regions would be to expand the defender sphere? Or would there be space for relations with regions that have a culture affinity to the South Pacific (for example in terms of roleplaying or other home-focused activities) but that, for lack of a better term, otherwise lack military alignment value?

[Jay Coop] Developing relations with roleplay regions is a good idea, which was part of the reason why I opened an embassy with Greater Dienstad when I last served as MoFA. Unfortunately, not much came out of doing that, but I believe that I could work with the Minister of Culture and GD and other RP regions to see what we can do there.

However, the gist of my statement is that there are a plethora of regions out there where we could work on developing a relationship with and a military culture aligned with defender values, ultimately expanding the defendersphere. We worked on such an idea last year, but I haven't seen what has come out of that. I hope to work with the Cabinet to further expand on these ideas.

Cross Questioning

[Qaweritoyu] There are plenty of new candidates running for other positions in our election this month, which is great to see. Does it worry you that neither me nor you are new to MoFA and are the only two candidates?

[Jay Coop] To be honest with you Qaz, it's surreal that we're having a rematch from last year. I think that the ministry needs new life, new blood, and more candidates willing to take on the mantle of MoFA, but part of the reason why I decided to run is that I didn't think that there were going to be many viable candidates for this position. Omega's gone, and Roavin told us on Day 1 that he was gonna be a one-term MoFA. We absolutely need new people who are willing to take the reins of our region's foreign policy, and it's slightly troubling that we are the only two people running for this job.

[Qaweritoyu] Does it worry you how little new people are getting involved in the MoFA? How will you increase the amount of new people joining the MoFA and encourage them to run in our elections?

[Jay Coop] I addressed this issue in my campaign. I believe that we should stimulate more discussions on FA in #legislators-lounge or even #government-discussion. If some drama is going on in GP, let's get a discussion going on that. I believe this is one way we can tackle the lack of interest in getting involved in the ministry, but it takes a village, so I hope to have more discussions with legislators and ambassadors to see what we can do to change the tides on this issue.

Desserts are a contentious issue in the region. Do you prefer cake or pie?

[Jay Coop] Pie, pie, and more pie. If anyone dare says cake, it's off to the dungeons with them.

Cake.

[Jay Coop] visible anger

Closing Remarks

[Jay Coop] My friends, voting is already underway, so make sure to head over to the forum to cast your vote in the Cabinet elections. I wish all the candidates good luck during the voting process, including my opponent Qaz, whom I believe is just as qualified as I am to serve as Minister of Foreign Affairs. No matter what choice you make in the MoFA election, know that the region is in good hands with either candidate. With that being said, I would prefer if you vote for yours truly.

There is no better moment than now to feature a shameless plug. Make sure to watch Black Widow when it comes out on 9 July.

The South Pacific Independent News Network (SPINN) is an independent news organisation established in 2003 with the goal of providing good, insightful and timely commentary on regional events for the citizens of the South Pacific. Opinions expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editorial Board. Content is published via pseudonyms. The SPINN is not associated with the Government of the South Pacific.

(This post was last modified: 06-12-2021, 02:42 PM by South Pacific Independent News Network.)