WELLINGTON, Jan. 16 (Xinhua) -- The defense ministers of New Zealand and Singapore on Monday pledged to continue their military cooperation and to expand it into new areas.
New Zealand Defense Minister Gerry Brownlee and his Singapore counterpart Dr Ng Eng Hen issued a joint statement after observing Exercise Thunder Warrior, an artillery live-fire exercise at the Waiouru Training Area, in the central North Island.
The ministers also conducted the inaugural Singapore-New Zealand Defence Ministers Meeting. Both nations remained committed to the relationship and looked forward to further opportunities to strengthen defense cooperation, the ministers said in the statement.
They agreed to initiate an annual formal ministerial meeting to conduct discussions "on issues of mutual concern."
Brownlee affirmed New Zealand's continued commitment to the Five Power Defence Arrangements (FPDA) and ASEAN (Association of South East Asian Nations) Defence Ministers' Meeting-Plus framework.
The FPDA was established by the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia and Singapore signed in 1971.
