Military exercises step up in US thaw

New Zealand and the United States are set to hold military exercises together and share intelligence on Afghanistan, it has been revealed.

Assistant Secretary of State for East Asia and the Pacific Kurt Campbell signalled the step up in the relationship during the launch of a major new study into New Zealand-US relations.

The study is backed by both countries' governments and agencies including the Pentagon and US State Department.

It is sponsored by the New Zealand and US business councils and will be carried out by Washington think tank the Centre for Strategic and International studies and the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs.

Dr Campbell said New Zealand and the US were closer than at any time since the Anzus bust-up over New Zealand's anti-nuclear legislation but there were still areas in which the two countries could cooperate more.

The Anzus bust-up led to a 25-year freeze on military exercises and training between the two countries.

The US has recently indicated a relaxation of that ban.

Dr Campbell, speaking in Washington, said New Zealand and the US were "working to engage in not only some exercises but also the sharing of critical information on the issues that we are facing in Afghanistan".

The US was also looking to step up its presence in the Pacific, Dr Campbell said.

"If you look over the course of 20 years, we have essentially walked away from some of our most important historic and strategic and moral commitments to the Pacific."

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton would be meeting the leaders of small Pacific island states next month to underscore the US's renewed commitment to the region.

Mrs Clinton is also expected to visit New Zealand this year, possibly after the Apec summit in Japan in November, when the preliminary findings of the New Zealand-US study are expected to be made public.

- © Fairfax NZ News