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uckland, New Zealand, Saturday 19 November 2016 – The Royal New Zealand Navy (RNZN) held an International Naval Review (INR) in conjunction with its 75th Anniversary of the establishment of the RNZN. The prestigious event held at the Auckland Harbour, New Zealand with the participation of 13 Warships, Patrol Vessels and Tall ships from around the globe.
The Royal Brunei Navy represented by Captain Haji Othman bin Haji Suhaili @ Suhaily, RBN, the Deputy Commander of RBN. The RBN Deputy Commander also had the opportunity to pay bilateral call to the Deputy Chief of Navy of RNZN, Commodore David Gibbs at the Hilton Hotel. During the meeting, both sides exchanged views on the possibilities to strengthen the existing bilateral relationship between the two defence forces especially the navies, such as professional exchanges and interactions. RBN Deputy Commander took the opportunity to convey condolences to the people of New Zealand for the recent earthquake that hit South Island on the 14 November 2016. He also expressed appreciation for the supports and contributions by the RNZN during the ADMM-Plus Maritime Security and Counter Terrorism Exercise co-hosted by Brunei and Singapore in May this year.
The INR was organised with series of events which commences on 17 November 2016 till 19 November 2016; such as the New Zealand native welcoming tradition, the ‘Powhiri’. The ‘Powhiri’ is a tradition by the ‘Maori’. During this event the Chief of Navy of RNZN Rear Admiral John Martin welcomed the guests and in his speech, he explains that the RNZN is standing on “two feet” throughout the event, with one foot in Kaikoura as the Defence Force of New Zealand providing disaster relief following Monday’s 7.8 scale earthquake. He expressed his appreciation and thanked the navies (Australia, Canada and the United States) that rendered response to the calamity otherwise they should have been in the INR. Britain’s First Sealord, Admiral Sir Phillip Jones, reciprocated the speech on behalf of the 22 visiting nations and thanking for the excellent welcome, he called the New Zealand Navy’s disaster recovery work as “a symbol of what navies do, and what close friends we have”.
On the second day, RBN Deputy Commander attended the thanksgiving and appreciation ceremony held at The Cloud, Auckland. During this event, all Head of Delegations of the participating navies were invited to the stage to present respective flags and the event was also included with a moment of silence to remember the fallen RNZN personnel over the years since its establishment 75 years ago. Present as the Guest of Honor was His Excellency Mr. Phil Goff, the Mayor of Auckland.
The highlight of the overall series of events was the actual International Naval Review itself on Saturday, 19 November 2016. The INR was graced by the presence of the Governor General of New Zealand, Her Excellency Dame Patsy Reddy onboard HMNZS OTAGO as the reviewing ship. During the event, dozens of sailors in ceremonial uniforms lined the decks of their respective ships and saluted the Governor General as the reviewing ship sailed past, where the ships aligned and anchored off the Auckland Harbour. The INR participating ships are HMNZS TE MANA (RNZN), HMAS DECHAINEX (Royal Australian Navy Submarine), BACH ESMERALDA (Chilean Navy Tall Ship), RSS RESOLUTION (Republic of Singapore Navy), KRI BANDA ACEH (Indonesian Navy), JDS TAKANAMI (Japan Maritime Self Defense Force), CNS YANCHENG (People’s Liberation Army – Navy), ROKS CHUNGBUK (Korean Navy), INS SUMITRA (Indian Navy), HMNZS TAUPO (RNZN), CIPPS TE KUKUPA (Cook Islands Patrol Boat), SPB NAFANUA (Samoa Patrol Boat) and VOEA PANGAI (Tonga Maritime Force).
