The world is now a more dangerous place. Tensions are rising in the Pacific region with both China and the United States building up their military forces in the Pacific Ocean to counter each other's ambitions. We as a Pacific island nation are in a precarious position between these 2 superpowers and our current military forces are woefully insufficient to defend our interests in the Pacific and ensure our Pacific Island partners are safe from military aggression, mostly due to our relatively small defense budget of $6 billion, or 1.5% of our GDP each year.

Therefore I believe the New Zealand government should pass a law that mandates that at least 2% of New Zealand's GDP be spent on defense each year, or an increase of $1 billion dollars in order to expand our military capabilities to defend ourselves and our Pacific partners from aggression.