Key facts
- Australia and New Zealand signed Plan Tasman on Monday to deepen naval cooperation.
- The pact will strengthen cooperation across personnel, training, capability development, warfighting, engineering, regulation, and international engagement.
- Plan Tasman was signed by Rear Admiral Darren Grogan of the Royal Australian Navy and Commodore Karl Woodhead of the Royal New Zealand Navy.
- The agreement aims to enhance collaboration, information sharing, training, and operational alignment.
- The maritime relationship between the two countries was established more than 160 years ago.
Australia and New Zealand have signed a pact named Plan Tasman to deepen cooperation between their navies. The agreement, signed on Monday, aims to strengthen collaboration across various areas including personnel, training, capability development, warfighting, engineering, regulation, and international engagement. This initiative is intended to enhance collaboration, information sharing, training, and operational alignment between the two naval forces, bolstering their ability to operate together in the complex Indo-Pacific security environment.
Rear Admiral Darren Grogan, Deputy Chief of the Royal Australian Navy, stated that Plan Tasman builds upon generations of cooperation and provides a framework to strengthen how the navies train, operate, and develop capabilities together. He emphasized that the agreement will help ensure both navies remain ready to operate side-by-side and respond to shared challenges in support of regional security, stability, and prosperity.