US Secretary of State Antony Blinken says ‘door very much open’ for NZ to join non-nuclear aspects of Aukus

US Secretary of State Antony Blinkin says the “door is very much open” for New Zealand to join non-nuclear aspects of the Aukus defence pact, and Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta has confirmed it’s being considered.

Blinken, the Biden administration’s top diplomat, met with Prime Minister Chris Hipkins and Mahuta in Wellington on Thursday. He said afterward New Zealand was a trusted partner that could participate in aspects of the Aukus pact, which will provide Australia with nuclear-powered submarines in an apparent effort to compete with China’s growing military strengthen.

Mahuta afterward confirmed that while Aotearoa had “not committed to anything at this point” and was “not contemplating joining Aukus”, that “at an officials level”, the Government was exploring what participating in Aukus’ second pillar – the sharing of cutting-edge military technologies – would look like. There was no timeline for Cabinet making decisions about this, she said.

The confirmation appeared to settle months of uncertainty over the Government’s view of the defence pact between the United States, United Kingdom, and Australia. The pact conflicts with New Zealand’s ban of nuclear power and weapons, and sparked concern across the Pacific that it could compromise a region-wide treaty banning nuclear weapons.

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Though Defence Minister Andrew Little expressed interest in talking with countries about participating in the pact after the visit of senior White House official Kurt Campbell in March, Prime Minister Chris Hipkins and Mahuta later talked this down, suggesting any prospect of discussion with the US was “purely hypothetical” as the second pillar was not “defined”.

Mahuta, when confirming Government officials were discussing the pact with counterparts on Thursday, said she accepted the assurances Pacific nations had received that Aukus would not breach the regional treaty.

While the Green Party has criticised prospective participation in the pact as undermining New Zealand’s independent foreign policy, there appears to be some cross-party consensus about considering participation in Aukus. National Party leader Christopher Luxon said on Wednesday that possibly participating in this second pillar of Aukus would be a “good conversation to have” – a conversation he would “most likely” have if elected to Government”.

“It needs a lot more definition before we would actually make a commitment about whether we would or wouldn’t get involved with that,” he said.

Blinken said of Aukus “we continue to develop it, continue to work particularly now on the second pillar, the door is very much open for New Zealand and other partners to engage as they see appropriate”.

Blinken arrived in Wellington on Wednesday evening after visiting Tonga and, after meetings on Thursday morning, he was headed to the US-Netherlands FIFA World Cup Women’s match and then onwards to Australia.

“This is my first visit to New Zealand … [it’s] long overdue, and some things in life actually, occasionally, exceed even your highest expectations and I can safely say that’s already the case,” he said.

Blinken’s visit was part of a broader effort by the United States to compete with China’s attempts to build influence in the region. The secretary of state attended an opening ceremony for a new US embassy in Tonga on Wednesday; the US has also opened an embassy in Solomon Islands this year, and is looking to open posts in Vanuatu and Kiribati also.

At a news conference with Tongan Prime Minister Hu’akavemeiliku Siaosi Sovaleni​ on Wednesday, Blinken said China’s engagement in the region “has grown, there has been some, from our perspective, increasingly problematic behaviour”.

He said there had also been “some predatory economic activities, and also investments that are done in a way that can actually undermine good governance and promote corruption”.

Tonga is heavily indebted to China, owing it more than 30% of its GDP, however Hu’akavemeiliku on Wednesday said his country had begun paying the debt and did not have “any problems or concerns”.

Blinken was less strident in his comments about China when asked about New Zealand’s relationship with its largest trading partner on Thursday. He said for New Zealand and countries across the Pacific, Europe, and Northeast Asia there was an “extraordinary convergence” in how to manage the “incredibly complex and consequential relationship” that all had with China.

While in Beijing recently, he said, he had “open, very candid conversations” and he understood from his meeting with Hipkins that similarly “constructive engagements” took place.

“We think those are important for all of us to take part in … It’s the best way, first of all, to try to manage our very real differences.”

Blinken avoided a question on the US’ withdrawal from the CPTPP, a region-wide free trade deal that New Zealand has urged the US to join.

He said the US was instead focused on its Indo-Pacific Economic Framework, a US-led regional trade agreement that excludes China and excludes market access measures such as reducing tariffs.