Watch: Is NZ about to get a new ally? Luxon speaks after major defence announcement

New Zealand will explore the possibility of joining the recently signed defence alliance between Fiji and Australia, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has announced.

Should the Government sign up to the alliance, Fiji would become New Zealand’s second defence ally, in addition to Australia.

The Prime Minister is expected to address reporters shortly. You’ll find a livestream above at about 3:45pm.

The announcement also comes after China also fired a missile into the South Pacific, a move the New Zealand Government quickly criticised as being concerning and inconsistent with peace in the region.

The Government confirmed on Thursday New Zealand will discuss with Australia and Fiji interest in exploring membership of their new alliance.

The final decision on joining the alliance will be taken by Cabinet, followed by the usual Parliamentary treaty process, a statement said.

It’s understood a decision on joining the alliance would be months away and unlikely to come ahead of this year’s general election, meaning a new Cabinet will likely make the decision.

The alliance commits its parties “to cooperate and consult, and to act to meet common danger”," the Government said.

Luxon said New Zealand and Australia share a “close bond, with a military alliance that continues to go from strength to strength, and we also have a strong and enduring relationship with Fiji”.

“We already work with both countries on how we can develop a safer region for all, so engaging with them on this alliance is logical.”

Christopher Luxon met with Australia's Anthony Albanese in June. Photo / Getty Images

Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters said Pacific leaders have for decades operated under an approach of having Pacific-led responses to regional security issues. He said this alliance underscored that stance.

“Elevating our long-standing relationship with Australia and Fiji - and other Pacific nations - to the next level through an alliance would mean we become even closer partners,” the minister said.

Defence Minister Chris Penk said it was an opportunity for further cooperation in the Pacific as New Zealand and Australia mark 75 years of their own alliance.

“New Zealand values the opportunity to grow Pacific unity and build stronger defence and security partnerships within our region. We are committed to the implementation of deeper defence and security cooperation with Fiji.”

The Ocean of Peace Alliance agreement between Fiji and Australia is a “mutual defence treaty”, with one section stating that the parties recognise “that an armed attack on any of the parties within the Pacific would be dangerous to each other’s peace and security as well as the security of the Pacific, and declares that it would act to meet the common danger, in accordance with its domestic processes”.

On Monday, after the agreement was signed, Luxon indicated New Zealand could become involved.

“I think New Zealand being in early would be a good thing ... you would have an ability to ultimately determine which other countries could join from across the Pacific,” he told reporters.

Asked if it would aggravate China, Luxon replied: “No, really what it’s about is … in the unlikely event that if Fiji gets, you know, attacked, Australia has said that they have an ally relationship and they would backstop them and vice versa.”

Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters was critical of the missile test. Photo / Anna Heath.

On the same day that alliance was struck, China conducted the test launch of a strategic missile by a nuclear submarine. The missile carried a dummy warhead towards the South Pacific.

China described it as a “routine arrangement” as part of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy’s “annual training”, the same language used by China following a 2024 missile launch.

But Peters said it was an “unwelcome and concerning development” and “not consistent with regional stability, and peace in the South Pacific”.

“We, like our neighbours in other Pacific countries, have no interest in China using the South Pacific as a testing site for missile capability.”

In February last year, Chinese warships carried out live-firing exercises in the Tasman Sea, which led to airlines changing their flight paths.

Luxon at the time said China hasn’t informed the Government about their activity in the sea west of the New Zealand mainland. However, he said the vessels had been within international waters.

Months prior, in September 2024, China fired a dummy warhead into the Pacific as part of what it called a “routine arrangement in our annual training plan”.

That was raised by Luxon with Chinese President Xi Jinping when the pair met on the sidelines of the Apec summit in Peru. The New Zealand leader called it a “concern for many of us in the Pacific”.

“There hadn’t been a missile fired for 44 years and it ended up just north of Tahiti. In the Pacific, we have a history around nuclear testing.”

Former Defence Minister Judith Collins has previously said China “changed the game” when it fired the missile.

“The intercontinental ballistic missile that China launched from its launch site in China to past Kiribati is about the same distance as it would be from that same launch site to New Zealand,” she said.

“I do think it sent a very strong signal. It was launched into the south Pacific nuclear-free zone. It didn’t have a warhead on it, but it could have, but it was very concerning,” Collins said at the time.

Jamie Ensor is the NZ Herald’s chief political reporter, based in the press gallery at Parliament. He was previously a TV reporter and digital producer in the Newshub press gallery office. He was a finalist in 2025 for Political Journalist of the Year at the Voyager Media Awards.