New Zealand for deeper defence ties with India

New Zealand today said it faces "maritime insecurity" and terror threat like India does and is keen to enhance cooperation in the areas of defence and security with this country.
A top military official of New Zealand said there are "new imperatives" for both the countries to deepen the security ties.
"Whether we like it or not, India and New Zealand are being exposed to maritime insecurity which are identical and counter terrorism threats which are similar. Of course, we need to talk," Air Commodore Shaun Clarke, New Zealand's Defence Advisor for Canberra and New Delhi, told PTI here.
Clarke, who is part of a 65-member delegation from the New Zealand Defence Force Command and Staff College in Wellington which is visiting here, said both countries have to "crawl, walk and run" when it comes to deepening bilateral defence cooperation.

"We have a longstanding relationship in other streams including trade, economy and historical connections. But in terms of defence and security, there are new imperatives which are causing us to have more conversations," he said.
The official said both the countries are "naturally aligned" since the independent foreign policy, democracy, colonial history and cricket are common to them.

"We are in the Pacific what India is in Indian Ocean. As a steward of security in respect of oceans. We can compare notes," he said.
The Defence Advisor said New Zealand finds think tanks "very impressive" in India.
"We are a small country and we don't have that asset. They (Indian think tanks) are fantastic. They are rich and so we are looking to tap into that," he said adding that his country would like to have tie ups on this front.