WELLINGTON, July 15 (Xinhua) -- Twelve New Zealand troops will attend as observers a major Australia-U.S. joint military exercise this year with a view to New Zealand forces possibly joining as a third partner in the future, New Zealand's Defense Minister Jonathan Coleman said Monday.
"The New Zealand Defense Force (NZDF) is sending observers to Exercise Talisman Saber 2013, one of Australia's major biennial exercises, to further develop our amphibious capability," Coleman said in a statement.
"This is a key exercise involving Australia and the U.S., and New Zealand is embedding observers this year with the possibility of participating fully in the future. It is important for our people to exercise with our partners in large scale complex exercises like Talisman Saber to improve our interoperability."
Approximately 28,000 personnel would take part in the biennial Australian and U.S. training exercise, which tested combined and joint fighting capabilities in "a complex high-end environment" conducted in Australia and Hawaii from July 15 to Aug. 5.
The move followed an agreement between New Zealand and Australia's defense ministers at their annual meeting last year to develop practical cooperation, he said.
New Zealand was also engaging more with the United States following the Wellington and Washington Declarations, which have helped thaw bilateral relations over the last three years.
Ties between the two nations cooled in the 1980s after New Zealand banned on all nuclear-armed and nuclear-powered ships in its waters.
Last year the NZDF took part in the U.S-hosted Exercise RIMPAC (Rim of the Pacific), and last month contributed personnel to Exercise Dawn Blitz, also in the United States.
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