US to deepen military ties in South Pacific
(VOVWORLD) - US Admiral John Aquilino, commander of the US Indo-Pacific Command, is visiting New Zealand after his Australia trip last week for an annual meeting with Indo-Pacific military leaders.
 US Admiral John Aquilino meets reporters during his visit to New Zealand. (Photo: New Zealand's Ministry of Defense) |
Speaking in New Zealand on Monday, Admiral Aquilino said the US will continue to operate in the areas that international law allows in order to preserve peace in the Pacific. The US will promote its current relationship with New Zealand and Australia while expanding its relationship with other countries in the South Pacific.
" To ensure we understand the issues that are of concern to the South Pacific islands, we just talked about the national security implications of climate change. We also discussed the importance of the ability to fish and exclusive economic zones," said Aquilino.
"We discussed the importance of maritime domain awareness for these nations. So I think the theme coming out of that portion of the Chief of Defense Conference was directly focused on the South Pacific islands," he added.