‘LOGICAL’:
NZ PM Christopher Luxon said that ‘we can develop a safer region,’ while the defense minister said it would be an ‘opportunity to grow Pacific unity’
New Zealand is considering joining a defense alliance signed by Australia and Fiji, New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said yesterday.
The Ocean of Peace Alliance elevated Fiji to one of Australia’s few treaty allies and binds each nation to come to the other’s “mutual defense.”
The pact came as Canberra attempts to outmaneuver China in the South Pacific. It was signed on Monday hours before Beijing’s test of a long-range nuclear-capable missile that landed in the Pacific Ocean.
Photo: Reuters
Australia and Fiji said that other Pacific countries with militaries can join the alliance.
“Fiji and Australia this week announced a commitment to become military allies, and New Zealand welcomes this,” Luxon said. “New Zealand and Australia share a close bond with a military alliance that continues to go from strength to strength, and we also have a strong and enduring relationship with Fiji.”
“We already work with both countries on how we can develop a safer region for all, so engaging with them on this alliance is logical,” he said.
New Zealand Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters, who described China’s ballistic missile test as “deeply concerning,” said that Pacific leaders have long sought a Pacific-led response to regional security issues.
“Elevating our long-standing relationship with Australia and Fiji — and other Pacific nations — to the next level through an alliance would mean we become even closer partners,” Peters said.
New Zealand Minister of Defence Chris Penk said it would be an “opportunity to grow Pacific unity.”
Peters on Monday said that China’s missile test went against the wishes of Pacific nations, who he said “have been clear we do not want to see the region become a theater for outside military competition.”
“This launch is not consistent with regional stability and peace in the South Pacific,” he said, adding that it “now seems to be a recurring pattern by China.”
New Zealand’s Defence Force privately warned that Beijing’s naval forays and ballistic missile tests would become a “persistent” feature of the Pacific, an internal document showed.