Both nations have ramped up defence spending.
United Kingdom Prime Minister Keir Starmer and New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon have announced a deepening of the defence partnership between the two Commonwealth nations.
A joint statement acknowledged “New Zealand’s upcoming participation in the UK-led Carrier Strike Group deployment in the Indo-Pacific, and welcomed ongoing consultations as New Zealand continues to explore potential opportunities for participation in AUKUS Pillar II.”
Supporting Ukraine
The leaders also discussed ongoing efforts to secure Ukraine’s post-war future:
“The Prime Ministers welcomed on-going discussions on future support for Ukraine as part of the UK and France-led Coalition of the Willing – a multinational reassurance force to support Ukraine’s long-term defence and security. Prime Minister Starmer thanked New Zealand for its ongoing participation in military and diplomatic discussions about possible post-conflict support for Ukraine.”
Both the UK and New Zealand have participated in training over 54,000 Ukrainian soldiers.
Deeper Defence Ties
The Prime Ministers announced a renewal of the UK-New Zealand defence partnership, along with a military-industrial focus:
“They agreed to renew our historic defence partnership to make it fit for the future, and to deepen cooperation in our defence capabilities and industries.”
New Zealand Defence Spending Lags
Like Canada, New Zealand has long treated national defence as an afterthought. The 2024 defence budget allocated less than 1% of GDP to the military. Early this month, New Zealand announced a $12 billion increase in defence spending in a ‘Defence Capability Plan’ that will see the country hit 2% of GDP within eight years. That pace lags many developed nations, including Canada, where both the Liberals & Conservatives pledge to hit the NATO target by 2030.
UK Exceeds NATO Target
By contrast, the UK is already exceeding the 2% target. The UK plans to raise defence spending from 2.3% of GDP to 2.5% by 2027. The Labour Government is increasing the pace of defence spending, and plans to announce a 3% defence spending target, paid for by reducing foreign aid from 0.5% of gross national income (GNI) to 0.3%.
CANZUK
Canada and New Zealand should emulate the UK’s on defence spending. Formalizing the CANZUK alliance, and expanding military production through deeper defence-industrial ties would be an efficient way for Canada, New Zealand, the UK, and Australia to strengthen our collective defence. You can read more about a potential ‘CANZUK defence dividend’ below:
Spencer Fernando
Image – YouTube
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