Mr Richardson started his presentation by suggesting that New Zealand's geographical distance from Southeast Asia and its political-military distance from the policies of the various U.S. administrations — unlike its neighbour Australia — have made it less controversial (although less substantial) and indeed more acceptable to the states of Southeast Asia.

Richardson predicated his analysis of ASEAN-NZ-Australia relations on a close examination of the character of relations between New Zealand and Australia. While the two sides have diverged in the past, there have also been important instances of cooperation between the two neighbours. Troops from both countries, for instance, have served together in wars and conflicts overseas: for instance, the Malayan Emergency in the 1950s and 60s, the Indonesian Konfrontasi in the mid-1960s, in Vietnam, Papua New Guinea, and most recently, in the Solomon Islands.

Apart from military and peacekeeping cooperation, the Australian and New Zealand governments also consult on a wide range of domestic and foreign policy concerns. The signing of the Closer Economic Relations (CER) agreement in 1983 has been crucial to the high degree of economic integration of Australia with New Zealand. The CER, which has provided for free trade in most agricultural products and almost all services between the two countries, has significantly integrated employment, banking and financial services in both countries.

Mr Richardson pointed out that while Australia and New Zealand have engaged separately with Southeast Asian states, they have also converged to pursue common approaches and strategies on certain trade, diplomatic and security issues relating to the region. The joint-negotiations by Australia and New Zealand over a liberalized trading and investment pact with ASEAN, their membership of the Five Power Defence Arrangements (FPDA) and their participation in the inaugural East Asia Summit in 2005 are notable instances of such cooperation. Richardson emphasized that while Australia and New Zealand maintain separate and individual bilateral ties with Southeast Asian states, there is now a growing importance of, and movement towards, joint Australia- New Zealand links with Southeast Asia.