New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said AUKUS was a “good thing for regional security” despite Wellington’s long-standing and bipartisan anti-nuclear stance, as he signalled he wanted his military to be more “interoperable” with Australian forces.

Addressing the Lowy Institute foreign policy think tank on Thursday night, Mr Luxon said Australia and New Zealand had a similar approach to managing relations with China, and countries wanted predictability with Beijing.