HMNZS Te Kaha hunting subs off Japan

The New Zealand Defence Force is taking part this week in a multilateral defence exercise in Japanese water that involves detecting, tracking and conducting simulated attacks on enemy submarines.

NZDF file photo HMNZS Te Kaha

The Royal New Zealand Navy frigate HMNZS Te Kaha will join the Japanese destroyer JS Inazuma, the Canadian frigates HMCS Winnipeg and Ottawa and United States Navy ships and aircraft in Exercise Pacific Guardian.

This year’s exercise, from 15-18 June south of Shikoku, Japan’s fourth-largest island, will include combined anti-submarine-warfare exercises, surface gunnery and helicopter landings on each other’s vessels.

“It is an opportunity to demonstrate and progress our defence co-operation with partner navies by training together at a tactical level,” Te Kaha Commanding Officer Steve Lenik said.

Te Kaha would send a crew member to serve as liaison officer on the Japanese destroyer and would host a US Navy officer on board during the exercise, Commander Lenik said.

In February, the NZDF deployed a naval task group comprising Te Kaha and the replenishment tanker HMNZS Endeavour for six months of training and activities in 12 countries across the Asia-Pacific region.

Since then, both ships have trained with the Royal Australian Navy off the coast of Australia and joined a Five Power Defence Arrangements (United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia, Singapore) exercise in Singapore.

Te Kaha has also visited ports and exercised with the navies of a number of Asian countries, including China, Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam and South Korea.

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