On Friday (August 8), as the Japanese government strives to deepen its strategic relations in the South Pacific, Japanese warships docked in the capital of New Zealand, Wellington, for the first time in nearly 90 years.
Accompanied by New Zealand naval vessels, the Japanese destroyers JS Ise and JS Suzunami sailed into Wellington Harbor with over five hundred crew members onboard. These warships departed from Sydney and are currently engaged in the Indo-Pacific deployment.
Prior to this, the two warships participated in the “Talisman Saber” joint military exercise led by the United States and Australia. This ceremonial visit to Wellington comes at a time of heightened tensions in the Indo-Pacific region, with Japan strengthening bilateral military cooperation with its allies.
Japanese Ambassador to New Zealand, Makoto Osawa, stated on Friday to reporters, “Our defense forces are engaged in cooperation, not only with New Zealand and Australia but also with many Pacific island nations… Our primary goal is a free and open Indo-Pacific.”
Before the Japanese ambassador made these remarks, the Australian government announced on Tuesday (August 5) that Mitsubishi Heavy Industries of Japan had won a contract to build warships for Australia in a bidding competition with a German company. Canberra officials praised Japan’s proposal as the best and most cost-effective, marking the largest defense industry agreement signed between the two countries to date.
The New Zealand government has been working in recent years to strengthen strategic and military relationships in Asia. As part of its foreign policy adjustment, it has been shifting more attention towards cooperation and security in the Pacific region.
Last month, Wellington authorities announced the initiation of negotiations for a defense logistics agreement with Japan to facilitate closer cooperation between the two countries’ militaries.
Japanese warships do not frequently visit such southern waters in the Pacific. However, due to the rich and strategically significant waters of New Zealand, Australia, and smaller Pacific island nations, the region has become a focal point of competition between the Chinese Communist Party and Western democratic countries.
Despite its remote location, with the military expansion of the Chinese Communist Party, New Zealand’s national security faces challenges. In February of this year, a Chinese navy frigate conducted live-fire exercises in the Tasman Sea between New Zealand and Australia, prompting high alert from the governments of both countries and forcing flights to divert in a short period.
The New Zealand military stated that the last time a Japanese warship visited Wellington Harbor was in 1936. Additionally, a Japanese warship visited New Zealand’s largest city, Auckland, in 2016.
(Reference: Reuters)