A Royal New Zealand Navy frigate has joined with the UK’s Carrier Strike Group as it traverses the South China Sea en route to a major international defence exercise.
The Defence Force said the HMZNS Te Kaha was heading for Singapore where it would participate in Bersama Gold 21.
The event was a major exercise marking the 50th anniversary of the Five Power Defence Arrangements (FPDA), involving Australia, United Kingdom, Singapore, Malaysia and New Zealand.
In recent days the UK’s Carrier Strike Group (CSG) has been training with ships from Japan, Netherlands, Canada, and the United States, including the US aircraft carriers USS Carl Vinson and USS Ronald Reagan.
Among the vessels Te Kaha is joining for about a week in the South China Sea was the Royal Navy’s CSG flagship vessel, the HMS Queen Elizabeth.
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The South China Sea is one of the world’s major sea lanes and is routinely transited by merchant and naval vessels and aircraft. It is also a contested area and known for piracy.
Defence Force said in a statement, New Zealand’s commitment to regional security has been demonstrated for decades through its presence with operations in the South East Asia region.
Deployments exercise freedom of navigation and overflight, the statement said.
Defence Force undertakes all activities in accordance with international law, and for ships in particular the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, it said.
At Bersama Gold 21, a Royal New Zealand Air Force P-3K2 Orion will also be involved with the UK CSG.
