Blinken says door open for New Zealand to engage on Aukus
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US Secretary of State Antony Blinken (left) with New Zealand's Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta in Wellington, on July 27.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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WELLINGTON – United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Thursday that the door was open for New Zealand to engage with the Aukus weapons development and procurement project between the United States, Britain and Australia.
The multi-stage Aukus project announced in March is planned to culminate in the late 2030s and early 2040s with British and Australian production and operation of a new submarine class
“The door’s very much open for New Zealand and other partners to engage as they see appropriate going forward,” Mr Blinken told a news conference in Wellington.
“We have long worked together on the most important national security issues. And so, as we further develop Aukus, as I said, the door is open to engagement.”
Mr Blinken is in New Zealand for just over a day
He met New Zealand Prime Minister Chris Hipkins and Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta. Later on Thursday, he also travelled to Australia, where the largest Australia-US military exercise is due to begin.
New Zealand has said that it is open to discussions on a second phase of Aukus focusing on military technology.
Ms Mahuta on Thursday, however, reiterated that it was “not prepared to compromise or change our nuclear-free position”, and that it continued to support a nuclear-free Pacific.
She said her discussions with Mr Blinken were warm and personal, and they had covered the international rules-based order, the increasingly contested global environment, including in the Pacific, and highlighted the two countries’ commitment to democracy and human rights.
New Zealand and the US describe themselves as close strategic partners, although their alliance was suspended in the 1980s, when New Zealand barred visits from US nuclear-powered or armed warships.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken (left) with New Zealand’s PM Chris Hipkins in Wellington on July 27, 2023.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Their relationship has become increasingly close in the past few years due to mutual concerns about China’s presence in the Pacific, particularly Beijing’s growing defence and policing ties with the Solomon Islands and its potential destabilising effect in the region.
Ms Mahuta said that while New Zealand respected the Solomon Islands’ independence, it also supported regional agreements that ask Pacific countries to come together when making decisions that could impact the region. REUTERS
