(Bloomberg) -- The prime ministers of New Zealand and Australia will hold talks Wednesday on regional security amid ongoing concerns about China’s ambitions in the Pacific.

On his first official trip abroad since being sworn in on Nov. 27, New Zealand’s Christopher Luxon flies to Sydney to meet with his Australian counterpart Anthony Albanese, seeking to deepen his country’s engagement with its closest partner and only ally. His primary focus is their security and defense relationship, Luxon said before his departure.

“It is without doubt we are in contested space,” he said. “I want to make sure that we are a very good partner in that regard and are working very positively and constructively with Australia, particularly in the Pacific.”

Luxon’s administration, a coalition of three center-right parties, has signaled it wants to align more closely with New Zealand’s traditional partners Australia, the UK, the US and Canada, with whom it shares intelligence in the Five Eyes alliance. It remains to be seen whether that means taking a firmer stance toward China, New Zealand’s largest trading partner.

The previous center-left government at times sought to mollify Beijing by opting not to co-sign some Five Eyes statements on China’s human rights record, raising concerns it was undermining the alliance’s solidarity.

Since then, China’s interest in the Pacific has caused alarm.

New Zealand, Australia and the US were blindsided when the Solomon Islands announced in early 2022 that it had signed a security agreement with Beijing. In response, Washington, Canberra and Wellington have dramatically increased their engagement with Pacific nations.

Read More: New Zealand’s Aging RNZAF Jets Haunt Luxon’s First Trip Abroad 

New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters, leader of the nationalist New Zealand First party, has praised US re-engagement in the Pacific at a time of “intensified geo-strategic competition.”

“In these complex and acutely challenging times, we recognize more than ever we must collaborate with partners who know us, value us, and trust us,” he said last week.

Luxon on Monday said New Zealand won’t neglect its key relationships, which include China.

“When you think about Australia, it’s a relationship we don’t want to take for granted,” he said. “Likewise with the US, likewise with China, frankly. And so those are the big three that we need to focus on.”

He also said that New Zealand’s position on joining the non-nuclear pillar of the AUKUS alliance between the US, the UK and Australia hasn’t changed.

“We’re up for exploring what that opportunity could be and what that would be about, but no commitments at this point,” he said.

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