‘Door is open’ for New Zealand to join AUKUS, Blinken says
“We’ve 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,” Blinken said.
The “door is open” for New Zealand and other countries to join the security pact between the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Thursday.
“On AUKUS as we continue to develop it … the door is very much open for New Zealand and other partners to engage as they see appropriate going forward,” Blinken told reporters in New Zealand. “We’ve 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.”
AUKUS, an acronym for the current partners, is a trilateral security pact announced in 2021 focused on the Pacific region.
The nations in March unveiled a new deal involving the sharing of nuclear submarine technology, which ultimately ends with London and Canberra creating advanced versions of the highly sensitive nuclear-powered submarine for their own navies.
Blinken’s stop in New Zealand this week came amid the dedication of a new American embassy in Tonga and a ministerial dialogue alongside Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin in Australia. He also cheered on the U.S. Women’s National Team in the World Cup on Wednesday.