New Zealand’s premier rules out taking part in nuclear part of AUKUS

By Anadolu staff

New Zealand’s premier on Wednesday ruled out any concessions on his country's nuclear-free stance while still looking to take part in the trilateral AUKUS military pact.

Speaking to a joint news conference with his Australian counterpart Anthony Albanese in Sydney, Christopher Luxon expressed his country’s interest in AUKUS pillar two involving jointly developed advanced military technologies by the US, UK, and Australia, the countries of the pact.

"We will always have our nuclear-free position. That's non-negotiable for us in New Zealand," Luxon told reporters when a journalist asked if his government has expressed interest in playing a greater role in the AUKUS military pact.

AUKUS is a trilateral arrangement announced in 2021 among the US, the UK, and Australia, under which Canberra will get nuclear-powered submarines.

Luxon made the remarks in neighboring Australia on his first foreign visit since taking office last month.

Last week, New Zealand Defense Minister Judith Collins accused the previous Labour government of missing an opportunity and signaled that it could join the second pillar of the AUKUS pact, involving information sharing and defense technologies but not nuclear submarines.

Luxon said AUKUS is a very important element for stability in the region and added: "From my point of view, we are interested in exploring pillar two in AUKUS, particularly new technologies and what that and the opportunities that may mean for New Zealand to participate (in). We'll work our way through that over the course of next year as we understand it more and think about what the opportunities may be for us.”

Albanese said that they discussed AUKUS pillar two during their meeting today.

"One of the things we discussed today with pillar two, as the prime minister has mentioned, is that's about a whole range of new technologies," Albanese said, based on an official transcript.

The two leaders also discussed a range of issues, including enhancing cooperation in trade, security, science, and fighting climate change.

*Writing by Islamuddin Sajid