US, New Zealand to resume military talks in November

US Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel and New Zealand Minister of Defense Jonathan Coleman agreed on Monday to resume bilateral military-to-military talks next month as part of efforts to expand defense cooperation between the two countries. At a press briefing after the meeting at the Pentagon, Hagel said military-to-military talks between the two countries were to resume next month in Honolulu, after a nearly 30-year hiatus since 1984, when New Zealand banned nuclear-armed or nuclear-powered ships from entering its waters. As a retaliation, the U.S. side suspended its obligations to the country under the Australia, New Zealand, United States Security Treaty in 1986. The suspension was lifted last year, and the two countries resumed defense cooperation. Hagel also said New Zealand would deploy a frigate to a multinational anti-piracy coalition in the Gulf of Aden, and would participate in next year's U.S.-led Rim of the Pacific Exercise ( RIMPAC). "Today, I authorized a New Zealand navy ship to dock at Pearl Harbor for RIMPAC 2014 and extended that invitation to Minister Coleman," Hagel said. This would be the first time for a New Zealand navy ship to visit Pearl Harbor in more than 30 years, he said. The expansion of defense relations between the two countries comes as Washington has been rebalancing its security priorities to the Asia-Pacific region in recent years.