New Zealand and AUKUS: Towards a New Dimension of Defence Cooperation?
Copyright (c) 2025 Szakacs Mirjam
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Abstract
AUKUS is a trilateral defense agreement established in 2021 between Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States, which elevates strategic cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region to a new level. The agreement rests on two pillars: the first focuses on the acquisition of nuclear-powered submarines by Australia, while the second emphasizes joint capability development. Within this framework, the three countries collaborate on areas that are expected to shape the future of the arms race, such as artificial intelligence, quantum technology, and hypersonic systems. This study examines New Zealand’s potential accession to the second pillar of AUKUS, based on government narratives and key strategic documents.
Keywords:
References
AUKUS: Managing New Zealand’s Strategic Interests (2024). New Zealand Ministry of Defence. Online: https://bit.ly/4ddWH2q
AUKUS: Proactive Release (2024). Online: https://www.mfat.govt.nz/assets/OIA/OIA-2024/AUKUS-proactive-information-release-2-August-2024.pdf
AUKUS Pillar II update and Next Steps (2025). New Zealand Ministry of Defence. Online: https://www.defence.govt.nz/assets/publications/AUKUS-Pillar-II-Update-and-Next-Steps.pdf
China Warns NZ Against Joining AUKUS Amid Security Concerns – report (2024). The Retuers, 2024. november 26. Online:https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/china-warns-nz-against-joining-aukus-amid-security-concerns-report-2024-11-26/
CLARK, Helen – BRASH, Don (2024): AUKUS – NZ Must Not Abandon Our Independent Foreign Policy. New Zealand Herald. Opinion, 2024. február 12. Online: https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/helen-clark-and-don-brash-aukus-nz-must-not-abandon-our-independent-foreign-policy/LLYEOE4WH5AY5DTV3D323OXRUU/
Defence Policy Review (2023). New Zealand Ministry of Defence. Online: https://www.defence.govt.nz/our-work/plan-and-assess/defence-policy-review/
DE JONG, Marco (2024): What You Should Know About New Zealand’s Potential Involvement In AUKUS Pillar Two. Security in Context. Online: https://www.securityincontext.org/posts/what-you-should-know-about-new-zealands-potential-involvement-in-aukus-pillar-two
DOWNES, Cathy (2024): Advantages, Opportunities and Benefits of AUKUS Pillar 2 for New Zealand. Australian Journal of International Affairs, 78(5), 639–643. Online: https://doi.org/10.1080/10357718.2024.2406282
FISH, Tim (2025): New Zealand in AUKUS ‘No Guarantee,’ but Discussions Active: Defense Minister. The Breaking Defense, 2024. március 18. Online: https://breakingdefense.com/2024/03/new-zealand-in-aukus-no-guarantee-but-discussions-active-defence-minister/
Guardian Australia (@guardianaustralia) (2022): ‘They Couldn’t Come Into Our Internal Waters’: Ardern Responds to Aukus Submarine Deal. Youtube. Online: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0o7aD6knz2k
HERSCOVITCH, Benjamin (2024): China Says AUKUS is ‘Driven by Cold War Thinking’. Here Are 3 Reasons it is so Threatened by the Pact. The Conversation, 2024. szeptember 17. Online: https://theconversation.com/china-says-aukus-is-driven-by-cold-war-thinking-here-are-3-reasons-it-is-so-threatened-by-the-pact-236065
KHOO, Nicholas (2024a): Critics of NZ Joining AUKUS Need to Answer a Crucial Question: What Exactly Is an Independent Foreign Policy? The Conversations, 2024. március 28. Online: https://theconversation.com/critics-of-nz-joining-aukus-need-to-answer-a-crucial-question-what-exactly-is-an-independent-foreign-policy-226617
KHOO, Nicholas (2024b): Retooling New Zealand’s Independent Foreign Policy for the AUKUS Era: Mission Impossible or Mission for a New Era? Journal of Indo-Pacific Affairs, 2024. november 20. Online: https://www.airuniversity.af.edu/JIPA/Display/Article/3971803/retooling-new-zealands-independent-foreign-policy-for-the-aukus-era-mission-imp/
LEE-FRAMPTON, Nick (2023): New Zealand Unveils Defense Strategy Documents. Here’s What They Say. The Defense News, 2023. augusztus 8. Online: https://www.defensenews.com/global/asia-pacific/2023/08/08/new-zealand-unveils-defense-strategy-documents-heres-what-they-say/
MOIR, Jo (2024): Christopher Luxon Meets with China's Xi Jinping. Radio New Zealand, 2024. november 16. Online: https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/533947/watch-christopher-luxon-meets-with-china-s-xi-jinping
Navigating a Shifting World (2023). New Zealand MFAT. Online: https://bit.ly/3GTvaqS
New Zealand, Australia’s Defense Ally, Considers Role in AUKUS Partnership (2024). Indo-Pacific Defence Forum, 2024. augusztus 25. Online: https://ipdefenseforum.com/2024/08/new-zealand-australias-defense-ally-considers-role-in-aukus-partnership/
New Zealand's Countering Terrorism and Violent Extremism Strategy (2021). New Zealand Government. Online: https://bit.ly/4mhpmYx
New Zealand’s Security Threat Environment – An Assessment by the New Zealand Security Intelligence Service (2023). New Zealand Security Intelligence Service. Online: https://www.nzsis.govt.nz/assets/NZSIS-Documents/New-Zealands-Security-Threat-Environment-2023.pdf
REGAN, Helen (2025): A US Ally Is Reconsidering Aid to a Strategic Pacific Nation. Will China Move in? CNN World, 2025. február 10. Online: https://edition.cnn.com/2025/02/09/asia/new-zealand-kiribati-us-china-pacific-intl-hnk/index.html
SMITH ROSS, Nicholas (2024): The End of New Zealand’s “Asymmetrical Hedge? Assessing New Zealand’s Indo-Pacific Outlook Post-Ardern. Journal of Indo-Pacific Affairs, 2024. november 20. Online:https://www.airuniversity.af.edu/JIPA/Display/Article/3971827/the-end-of-new-zealands-asymmetrical-hedge-assessing-new-zealands-indo-pacific/
SZAKÁCS Mirjam (2020): Az ANZUS mint kollektív védelmi szervezet. Hadtudomány, 30(2), 55–64. Online: https://doi.org/10.17047/HADTUD.2020.30.2.55
Treaty of Rarotonga [é. n.]. United Nations. Online: https://www.un.org/nwfz/fr/content/treaty-rarotonga