The increasingly close partnership between New Zealand and NATO is a sign of strengthening security linkages between the Indo-Pacific and Europe, pulling the geographically distant regions closer to one another. New Zealand is one of NATOs “Indo-Pacific Four” (IP4) partners, along with Australia, South Korea, and Japan. Notably, Luxon was the only leader from the IP4 to attend the 2025 NATO summit, underscoring the importance New Zealand ascribes to the relationship. New Zealand and NATO share the view that the Indo-Pacific and Euro-Atlantic strategic theaters are becoming increasingly interconnected. At the same time, New Zealand should avoid competing with partners such as South Korea, a far more advanced defense exporter that is also deepening industrial ties to NATO allies (for example, by establishing a defense industrial working group at the June summit).