Japan-New Zealand Defense Ministerial Meeting (Summary)

in Japanese
November 17th, 2019
Japan Ministry of Defense

　On November 17, 2019, from 15:05 (local time) for approx. 15 minutes, Defense Minister Kono, who was visiting Thailand to attend the 6th ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting-Plus (ADMM-Plus), held a meeting with New Zealand Minister of Defence, the Hon. Ron Mark. The summary of the meeting is as follows:

1. Opening Remarks

　Minister Kono welcomed the first Japan-New Zealand Defense Ministerial Meeting in two and a half years. He also expressed gratitude for New Zealand’s deployment of a P-3K2 patrol aircraft to collect evidence of North Korea’s “ship-to-ship” transfers, which is the second deployment by the country followed by the deployment in 2018. He added that he would like to continue to foster relations with New Zealand. In response, Minister Mark said that New Zealand looked forward to continued cooperation with Japan.

2. Japan-New Zealand Defense Cooperation

　The Ministers welcomed this year’s active high-level exchanges between the two defense authorities. Also, they expressed their strong willingness in pursuing possibilities of bilateral cooperation on Pacific island countries.

3. Regional Issues

　The Ministers exchanged views on regional issues in Oceania, including Pacific island countries and New Zealand.