The New Zealand government has confirmed that it is discussing joining the non-nuclear part of the AUKUS alliance founded by Australia, the UK and the US. It is reported by The Guardian.

“We were offered the opportunity to discuss whether we can and want to participate in the second [non-nuclear] component of the alliance. I indicated that we would be ready to look into this matter,” said New Zealand Defense Minister Andrew Little..

The remarks come a week after New Zealand Foreign Minister Nanaya Mahuta visited China and met with senior Chinese diplomats who expressed concern about military ties between Australia, the UK and the US, centered on Australia's acquisition of nuclear submarines..

The second component of the agreement, consisting of three parts, covers the exchange of advanced military technologies, including in the field of quantum computing and artificial intelligence..

New Zealand was not offered to join Pillar 1 and would not have accepted due to its anti-nuclear stance. Little said that any accession to AUKUS could not jeopardize New Zealand's legal and moral obligations to be a non-nuclear state..

“[AUKUS membership] would be about technology needed to protect military personnel. Usually it is territory awareness, that is, surveillance technologies and radio technologies that allow us to do this,” he said..

This month, Little met with U.S. Indo-Pacific National Security Coordinator Kurt Campbell..

During her visit to Beijing last week, Chinese officials made their concerns clear, Mahuta said..

“They recognized our position on this issue.. We are not part of these agreements,"

There are other concerns in New Zealand about the AUKUS treaty, including that it could jeopardize the Rarotonga treaty, which makes large areas of the Pacific Ocean free of nuclear weapons..

“We are concerned to prevent the militarization of the Pacific, so that the Rarotonga treaty is respected, and this is the basis on which we received assurances from Australia regarding these arrangements,” Mahhuta said..

Beijing strongly opposes AUKUS, with Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin saying "

It is not clear if China has the same concerns about non-nuclear AUKUS units..

Last week, New Zealand opposition spokesman Gerry Brownlee expressed his concern that AUKUS could make it harder for ANZAC forces to work together..

On Tuesday, March 28, he retracted his comments, saying that he was certainly not trying to criticize the agreement..

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Little said foreign or local votes against the agreement would not be a factor in potential accession..

“We as a country and modern leaders need to assess our long-term interests and what is happening in a rapidly changing world and in a rapidly changing region,” he said..

Former New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark says it's not in New Zealand's interest to be involved with AUKUS.

[see_also ids\u003d"

US, UK and Australia form security alliance - AUKUS. The decision of the three countries is systemic and is caused, among other things, by the desire to counter the growing political, economic and military influence of the PRC. Viktor Konstantinov reflects on the creation of a tripartite defense alliance in the article "