New Zealand will take “a long time” to make a decision on future cooperation with the AUKUS alliance.
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| New Zealand's foreign minister said the government is still conducting "information-gathering discussions" about future cooperation with the AUKUS alliance. (Source: KBS) |
New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters said on May 1 that the government was still conducting “information-gathering discussions” about future cooperation with the AUKUS alliance, but that it would take “a long time” before a decision could be made on the matter.
Mr Peters explained that New Zealand needs to better understand the potential opportunities for collaboration with AUKUS in the technology sector, consider the economic and security benefits and decide whether it is in the national interest.
“It will be a long time before the government makes such a decision,” Peters said in a speech to the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs in Wellington. “We want to emphasise that it would be completely irresponsible for any government not to consider whether it is in the national interest to work with like-minded partners on technological advancements.”
AUKUS is a two-phase defense pact - signed by the US, UK and Australia in 2021 as part of efforts to push back against China's growing influence in the Asia- Pacific region.
The first phase, or “pillar one”, of AUKUS is designed to provide nuclear-powered attack submarines to Australia, while the second pillar focuses on providing advanced capabilities and sharing technology across multiple domains.
There is no indication that New Zealand – a country that has for a long period of its history been nuclear-free – will join the first phase.
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