Aukus submarines banned from New Zealand as pact exposes divide with western allies

Experts say Aukus military deal underlines Australia's increasingly close alignment with the US on China - and New Zealand's relative distance

New Zealand is not part of a new security pact between Australia, the UK and US, in what experts say is an illustration of the distance between the country and its traditional allies.

On Wednesday, the three countries announced a trilateral security partnership, Aukus, aimed at confronting China, which will include helping Australia to build nuclear-powered submarines. New Zealand and Canada were notably absent.