New Zealand sends troops to Malaysia for exercises

The New Zealand military is sending 120 troops to Malaysia for maneuvers in a Southeast Asian tropical environment, the New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) said Thursday.

A light infantry company group of the New Zealand Army would spend a week training with personnel from the 25 Royal Malay Regiment in Bentong for exercise Taiaha Tombak.

NZDF Land Component Commander, Brigadier Mike Shapland, said the warm-weather training was essential.

"The exercise exposes our people to living and working in a Southeast Asian tropical environment and a variety of terrain," he said in a statement.

"It also enhances our relationship with the Malaysian Armed Forces," he said.

The New Zealand Army had been taking part in Taiaha Tombak since the 1980s, as part of a program to enhance light infantry capability.

A reciprocal exercise was held in New Zealand on alternate years.

Concurrently 26 New Zealand Army staff officers would be participating in Exercise Suman Warrior, a Five Power Defence Arrangement (FPDA) planning exercise at brigade level also being held in Malaysia.

In Suman Warrior, New Zealand Army and Australian Defence Force personnel join in a joint battalion headquarters to practice command and staff procedures in combined and joint operations.

NZDF personnel participating in both exercises will return to New Zealand in early October.

In April and May, the NZDF took part in air and maritime exercises in the South China Sea and in Malaysia, Brunei, Singapore and the Philippines.

The FPDA, formed in 1971, involves Australia, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore and Britain. Endit