March 28 () –
The New Zealand Defense Minister, Andrew Little, has shown this Tuesday his interest in negotiating an entry into the AUKUS program, of which the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia are part, and whose objective is to promote the manufacture of nuclear-powered submarines.
“We have been offered the opportunity to discuss whether we can or wish to be involved in that aspect of pillar two. I have indicated that we would be willing to explore it,” the minister said.
In this case, New Zealand would join the second “pillar” of the program, which includes defense technologies “associated” with nuclear-powered submarines, such as artificial intelligence and advanced information technology.
According to the head of the Defense portfolio, security forces need to “keep their technology at the level of their Australian and US counterparts” so that soldiers can communicate in joint operations.
“We have technology right now that does that, but that technology is getting more and more outdated. We have to make sure we keep our technology fresh to allow us to do that,” Little explained.
