A former senior US diplomat has publicly questioned what New Zealand brings to its relationship with the United States.

David Stilwell, who worked at the State Department from 2019 to 2021 managing US relations across Asia and the Pacific, asked bluntly: "What have you done for me lately?" according to RNZ. He was asking what New Zealand actually contributes to the relationship.

Stilwell is not a minor figure. He is a retired Air Force Brigadier General and one of America's senior officials for the entire Asia-Pacific region. When someone at this level asks questions in public, people in Washington pay attention.

For years, New Zealand has pointed to two things to show it is a good partner to the US: it shares intelligence through an arrangement called Five Eyes (with the US, UK, Australia and Canada), and it sends troops to join US military operations around the world. But some American officials, it seems, want to know something different: what is New Zealand doing in its own backyard, and is it willing to take public positions that might anger China or cost it something?

The question arrives at a tricky moment for New Zealand. The government is trying to do two things at once — make money from trading with China while keeping security partnerships with the US, UK and Australia. New Zealand said no to joining AUKUS, a security deal between the US, UK and Australia. That "no" was noted in Washington. Later discussions about joining a looser version of the arrangement have not settled American concerns.

Stilwell's question is not really about how much money New Zealand spends on defence, though that does come up. It is about whether New Zealand will publicly criticise China or push back against its policies — and whether it will do that alongside other countries or just follow them.

New Zealand has long said it can do more by talking quietly behind the scenes than by making public statements. The government argues that by staying independent, it can say things other countries cannot. There is some truth to this. But it only works if the other side believes it, and Stilwell's remarks suggest some American officials no longer do.

How much weight to give to a former official's comments is a fair question. Stilwell no longer works for the government. But retired US officials do not usually speak in public unless they reflect views held by others in the policy world they still move in. His remarks probably signal what some people in Washington are thinking.

New Zealand's Foreign Affairs ministry has not publicly responded.