The protracted deliberations over joining AUKUS pillar two suggest New Zealand is hoping questions of security, trade and domestic opinion will be solved in time. That’s unlikely.

We now know official New Zealand meetings to discuss ‘AUKUS Tier 2’ took place much earlier than previously disclosed – raising questions about the security pact’s underlying purpose.

Potential economic gains are partly driving interest in joining pillar two of AUKUS. The risks and rewards need to be more widely debated before any decision is made.

Signing up to ‘pillar two’ of the AUKUS alliance sits uneasily with New Zealand’s distinctive worldview – and could aggravate its wider foreign policy challenges.

With the rise of China and shifting international power dynamics, New Zealand needs to find its place in a complex system of alliances and partnerships.