TOKYO — New Zealand will “seriously” explore adopting Japan’s Mogami-class frigate as part of its naval fleet, the country’s foreign minister told Nikkei.
Interoperability with Australia’s navy will factor into decision.
The Anzac-class frigates currently in service for Royal New Zealand Navy will reach the end of their design life by the mid-2030s, and the country is looking for potential successors.
“We made it very clear that we are going to examine all propositions, look at all the utilities,” Winston Peters said in an interview during his recent visit to Tokyo. The U.K.’s Type 31 frigates have been raised as candidates as well.
Peters declined to go into specifics regarding the potential acquisition of the Mogami-class frigate, “other than to say we’ll look at them seriously.”
Australia, a New Zealand ally, has decided to adopt the Mogami as the next-generation general-purpose frigate. The frigate was developed by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries.
“Interoperability [and] future cooperative engagement with allies is obviously important,” said Peters. The ease of conducting joint drills with the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force and Australia’s navy would be applicable areas.
New Zealand’s current frigates have been in service since the 1990s. They originally came from Australia.
“We could have got them much more cheaply, and as efficaciously as a purchase, if we’d have gone somewhere else,” said Peters.
Because the global situation has changed dramatically, “so has the military defense utilities,” he added.
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In April, the Japanese government eased export rules for defense equipment. Peters views Japan as making that move in response to “greater geostrategic threat and insecurity.”
Given the increasingly complex international order, Japan and New Zealand should play a larger role on the security front, he said.
“We’ve got to pick up, make a greater effort, play a greater role,” said Peters. “It’s just the responsibility we’ve got now.”
Japan and New Zealand have deepened security cooperation. In December, the nations signed an acquisition and cross-servicing agreement to facilitate the exchange of fuel, ammunition and other supplies. In March, a bilateral agreement on the security of information entered into force to ease sharing classified information.
Next year, Japan and New Zealand will mark the 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations. Marking that occasion, it is expected that “we will be able to announce a new high level of association that we never had before,” said Peters.
The shifting security environment is a major concern, including China test firing a submarine-launched ballistic missile on July 6.
“All of us across the Pacific are alarmed at this most unhelpful development,” Peters said.
Peters described the fallout from the Iran war and the wider Middle East conflict as “an unnecessary sacrifice,” citing global inflation in particular.
“We hope that diplomacy prevails and that comes to an end,” said Peters. At the same time, “growing our own independence and self-sufficiency is now back as the number one objective for New Zealand.”
