A proposed 6.6 percent cut in New Zealand’s defense budget could stall the Oceanian nation’s bid to join the AUKUS military alliance, according to a Reuters report on Wednesday.
Wellington is planning to reduce its proposed defense spending for the year ending June 2025 to $3.03 billion from the current year’s $3.25 billion, based on figures that the news agency obtained from the New Zealand defense minister.
Diplomatic sources told Reuters that New Zealand’s lower military budget will hurt its capability to participate in the technology-centered second stage of AUKUS that will involve developing such weapons as hypersonic missiles, in which Japan and South Korea have shown interest.
The proposed 2025 budget, which will be presented to Parliament on May 30, would trim Wellington’s defense spending to 0.9 percent of the country’s gross domestic product from 1 percent in 2024.
In an email to Reuters, Defense Minister Judith Collins said major decisions on capital spending would still be made after a new Defence Capability Plan is completed in June. “I have been consistently clear that Defence will need more funding and am committed to supporting Defence,” she added.
In another email to the news agency, Finance Minister Nicola Willis said an additional $350 million in new defense spending in the next four years had been announced by the government.