New Zealand said it will consider joining a defence alliance recently agreed by Australia and Fiji.
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said the government would hold discussions on whether New Zealand should join the arrangement, adding that any final step would need approval from both Cabinet and Parliament. He described the pact as part of a wider effort by regional leaders to respond to mounting security pressures in the Pacific.
The alliance was signed in Suva by Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Fiji’s Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka, and it is designed to include mutual defence commitments as well as cooperation aimed at development in areas like health and education. Australia has also signalled the alliance as a way to strengthen ties with Pacific partners and respond to what it characterises as China’s expanding military influence.
Luxon said New Zealand’s participation would be considered in that broader regional context, and that it could potentially be expandable to other Pacific states depending on how the arrangement develops.
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