Image source: topwar.ru
New Zealand Defense Minister Andrew Little said that his country intends to cooperate within the framework of AUKUS, a trilateral defense alliance established by the United States, Great Britain and Australia at the end of 2021.
– stressed the head of the New Zealand Defense Department.
It is worth noting that a week earlier, the Foreign Minister of New Zealand, Nanai Mahuta, had a meeting with senior Chinese diplomats, during which they expressed extreme concern about the growing military cooperation between the United Kingdom, the United States and Australia, especially against the background of statements by official London and Washington about the provision of nuclear submarines (NPS) by them. As the head of the New Zealand Foreign Ministry claimed at the time, she managed to assure her colleagues from China that her country had nothing to do with it. However, a few days later, Mahuta announced Wellington's readiness to join the military partnership of Australia, Britain and the United States.
Canberra can get access to the latest technologies in the military sphere (including quantum), as well as in the field of artificial intelligence (AI) from its partners. Also, military cooperation within the framework of AUKUS also provides for the transfer of 3 to 5 Virginia-class nuclear submarines to it, starting from 2032.
However, Wellington has his own concerns in this regard, since, in his opinion, by their actions these States may jeopardize the Rarotonga Treaty – a document on a nuclear-free zone in the South Pacific Ocean, signed on August 6, 1985.
Nevertheless, as former New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark stated, her country will continue to adhere to a nuclear-free policy, being not interested in AUKUS. But now it turns out that New Zealand may be included in this Anglo-Saxon military alliance.
