The Australian and New Zealand governments have agreed to work more closely together on defence operations during a meeting in Melbourne.
Australia’s Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles and Foreign Minister Penny Wong met with New Zealand’s Foreign Minister Winston Peters, and Defence Minister Judith Collins.
The consultations, dubbed “ANZMIN 2024,” aimed to advance shared interests with Pacific partners, deepen defence cooperation, and strengthen the partnership between the two nations.
Speaking to reporters following the joint meeting, Mr. Marles described the talks on Feb. 1 as a “huge step forward.”
“We have committed to working much more closely together in terms of defence operations to give effect to deterrence,” he said.
“We have agreed to work much more closely together in terms of building interoperability and interchangeability between our two defence forces—in other words, we are committed to constructing two defence forces which are seamless in the way in which we are operating.
“We bring much greater effect when we work together than we do when we work on our own. I think there is a huge step forward that has been taken today in terms of building that seamlessness.”
New Zealand is looking at joining “AUKUS Pillar 2” and will “very shortly” host an Australian delegation to discuss this further.
AUKUS is the trilateral defence partnership between Australia, the United States and the United Kingdom—it involves the sharing of technology in high-tech areas including quantum tech, undersea capabilities, hypersonic weaponry, and cyber capabilities.
“We have agreed to send a team to New Zealand very shortly to brief New Zealand on developments in relation to AUKUS and particularly AUKUS Pillar 2,” Mr. Marles said.
New Zealand Ministers Highlight Need to Work With Close Friends
New Zealand’s deputy prime minister and foreign minister, Mr. Peters, highlighted the need for “greater maturity” and “greater intensity” in diplomatic ties amid “deteriorating geopolitical conditions,” AAP reported.Mr. Peters, 79, was reelected to Parliament for the 15th time at the 2023 election, and has worked with both sides of politics during his extensive career.
Meanwhile, New Zealand’s Defence Minister Collins discussed the importance of working closely with close friends during a time of “increased strategic competition and challenges.”
“Increasingly, the rules-based order which we rely on as democratic countries is under threat,” Ms. Collins said.
“In that context, there has never been a more important time to work with close friends.”
“That would have been bad,” Ms. Collins said as Mr. Marles quickly jumped out of the way.
