The New Zealand government is looking at joining a defence agreement between Australia and Fiji, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said on Monday. He called it a "logical" thing to do RNZ.

Australia and Fiji signed the deal—called the Ocean of Peace Alliance, or the Veitacini Treaty—on Monday in Fiji DFAT. The treaty says the two countries will work together, talk regularly, and help each other if there is danger RNZ. Luxon said this makes Australia and Fiji military allies, which he said New Zealand welcomes.

The government released a statement saying it is interested in joining Beehive. But no decision has been made yet. The Cabinet (New Zealand's top government leaders) will first discuss it with Australia and Fiji to understand what joining would actually mean.

Luxon says joining now rather than later would be useful. If New Zealand joins early, he said, it would have a say in which other Pacific countries get to join later. The treaty allows new countries to join, but only if both Australia and Fiji agree. So New Zealand has more power to influence the alliance if it joins now rather than waiting.

Defence Minister Chris Penk said New Zealand will keep working closely with Fiji on defence matters, whether or not it joins this alliance.

Foreign Minister Winston Peters connected the news to a Chinese missile test that happened in the South Pacific shortly after Australia and Fiji signed their deal. Peters said the missile launch went against "the spirit and intent" of the alliance. He also said this is not a new idea—Pacific countries have long worked together on their own security.

Now, government officials need to figure out what joining would actually commit New Zealand to do. The treaty says countries must "act to meet common danger." New Zealand has usually preferred to work with Pacific countries through forums where everyone has a say, rather than signing treaties that promise to act together in a crisis. Before the Cabinet decides, officials need to work out whether New Zealand would accept those kinds of commitments.

There is another thing to think about. Foreign Minister Peters used the alliance's own language to criticize China's missile test, even though New Zealand hasn't decided to join yet. If New Zealand does join the alliance, it will be doing so at a time when there is tension in the Pacific because of China's actions. That may affect how other countries view the deal.

The government has not set a date for when it will make a final decision. New Zealand's role—whether it fully joins, becomes an associate member, or something else—is still being worked out.