New Zealand is the second NATO partner nation, after Ukraine, to contribute to Operation Ocean Shield. New Zealand has previously contributed to NATO operations, including SFOR in Bosnia and Herzegovina and ISAF in Afghanistan.
For those of you still thinking NZ is not a “partner/member” of NATO I hope you will reconsider:
Following a formal exchange of letters signed Tuesday (21 January 2014) between NATO and the New Zealand Government, the Royal New Zealand Navy frigate HMNZS TE MANA is set to join the Alliance’s Operation Ocean Shield on 23 January, marking the second time a partner nation has contributed to NATO’s counter-piracy effort.
The NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen welcomed the contribution from New Zealand. “Piracy threatens all of us and the contribution by New Zealand will help to deter the threat of piracy off the Horn of Africa,” Mr Fogh Rasmussen said. “I welcome this offer, which will further enhance NATO – New Zealand co-operation and demonstrate the depth of our strengthening partnership that stretches from Afghanistan to the coast of Somalia. By working together, we not only make a real difference in dealing with today’s security threats, we also improve our ability to operate together.”
Aotearoa: A Wider Perspective 