New Zealand looks to lead maritime security at Asian defense forum

New Zealand will be looking to help lead the fight against piracy and people smuggling in the east Asia region after a major regional meeting of defense ministers this week. New Zealand Defense Minister Jonathan Coleman, who is attending the second ASEAN Defense Ministers Meeting Plus (ADMM-Plus) in Brunei this week, said New Zealand would move from co-chairing the experts working group on peacekeeping operations to co-chair the working group on maritime security from April next year. "These working groups are an important mechanism to deliver cooperation at a practical level," Coleman said in a statement Monday. "A secure maritime environment is vital to economic prosperity and regional security in the Asia-Pacific region. It is important countries work together to address the challenges to maritime security such as piracy, drugs smuggling, people smuggling and illegal fishing." Coleman would also hold bilateral meetings with counterparts from a range of countries and sign a Memorandum of Intent with Japan to formalize bilateral defense engagements and cooperation in multilateral settings. "New Zealand values our defense relationship with Japan. The Memorandum of Intent will promote greater understanding between the NZ Defense Force and the Japanese Self Defense Force in areas of mutual interest," said Coleman. The ADMM-Plus on Aug. 28 and 29 would involve defense ministers from ASEAN (Association of South East Asian Nations), Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand, the Republic of Korea, Russia and the United States. The first ADMM-Plus was held in Vietnam in 2010. After ADMM-Plus, Coleman would travel to Singapore for bilateral meetings.