Kiwi and Aussie Army Chiefs link up for joint Pacific tour

“It’s rare for us to have the chance to join up for bilateral talks of this nature and so we’re really grateful to Lieutenant General Stuart and his team for making it work. It also gives us a valuable opportunity to have important discussions with some of our key partners in the region as it relates to our collective security and direction, and where both our New Zealand and Australian armies can work alongside our friends in the Pacific for the benefit of us all,” said Major General King. 

Lieutenant General Stuart arrived in Wellington on Sunday evening and was welcomed to Defence House for army-to-army talks on Monday.

“Our Anzac relationship is as strong as it’s been, and what’s becoming ever more apparent is that the deep connections we’ve forged through Plan Anzac in recent years continues to see us both go from strength to strength - our talks on Monday reinforced that.”

Lieutenant General Stuart said this week is an important opportunity to connect with our regional partners.

“It’s as much about listening and learning as anything else. We’ve built up great partnerships with countries around the Pacific and we’re keen to see how we can boost our support to the region and its collective security, which in turn provides huge value and lessons for us all,” Lieutenant General Stuart said.

The joint contingent will travel to Fiji on Tuesday where they will hold talks with Republic of Fiji Military Forces (RFMF) leadership before getting an opportunity to catch up with some of our personnel who are in Fiji supporting the RFMF.

“Our Mutual Assistance Programme is into its 53^rd year, and continues to be one of our integral defence connections with Fiji, and it will be great to see that work happening on the ground and discuss how we can further deepen our relationship across training, staff exchanges and infrastructure opportunities,” MAJGEN King said.

Following the Fiji visit, the contingent will then visit Timor-Leste to connect with Commanders at Metinaro Military Camp, where later this year the NZ Army will be sending personnel to participate in Exercise Hari’I Hamutuk, a multi-national exercise alongside our Australian, Japanese and Timor-Leste partners, as well as the United States Marine Corps.

The joint Pacific tour comes at the same time as the New Zealand Army sends a motorised infantry combat team across the Tasman to participate in Exercise Talisman Sabre, one of the largest multi-national multi-domain exercises in the world.