Australian officials recently visited Wellington to brief NZ counterparts on Pillar II of AUKUS, as agreed during a recent meeting between Australian and New Zealand Defence ministers.
“This was a background briefing for information only and not intended to address the issue of NZ joining Pillar II,” said Anton Youngman, Deputy Secretary, Ministry of Defence.
AUKUS partners have not yet put a timeframe on when Pillar II might be opened to other countries.
“Officials will continue regular engagement with the AUKUS partners, as we build our understanding of Pillar II.”
New Zealand is committed to working with key security partners on the common objective of ensuring a secure, stable and resilient region, and an effective rules-based international system.
