Jodhpur (Rajasthan) [India], October 11 (ANI): New Zealand Defence Adviser Commodore Andrew Dowling on Saturday said his country wants to be more involved in India's multinational air combat exercise Tarang Shakti, highlighting the growing momentum in bilateral defence ties and identifying maritime cooperation as a key area for further engagement.
Speaking to ANI on the sidelines of Exercise Tarang Shakti 2026 in Jodhpur, Dowling said the exercise offers valuable training opportunities while helping participating countries strengthen partnerships and develop common operational practices.
"It's an exercise that we want to be more involved in. For us, we realise how much effort and how difficult it is to generate an exercise that's complex, that delivers really good training, and also allows partnerships and ways of operating to develop," he said.
Highlighting the expansion of India-New Zealand defence cooperation over the past two years, Dowling pointed to their engagement in the Combined Maritime Forces (CMF), the signing of a defence cooperation agreement and a recently signed maritime cooperation agreement.
"It's really emerged and got an awful lot busier probably in the last two years--from us commanding the Combined Maritime Force 150 in the Gulf, and we had the Indians as the deputy, which was a real honour. We signed the defence cooperation agreement in March of last year. We've just signed a maritime cooperation agreement, and the maritime is probably the area where we'll do the most amount of business," he said.
Dowling said cooperation between the two navies would be a major focus in the coming months, with exchanges of subject matter experts and ship visits among the areas being explored.
"So our Navies working together, exchanging of subject matter experts, ship visits--they're the things that will be on the horizon over the next 12 months, as well as increasing and deepening our ties in a wider security sense, as well as what we're going to do with the Army and the Air Force," he added.
Exercise Tarang Shakti 2026 is being conducted by the Indian Air Force (IAF) at Air Force Station Jodhpur from September 26 to October 12 under the theme "Power in Partnership".
The exercise brings together air forces from Australia, the United States, the United Arab Emirates, France, Germany, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh for joint training, operational exchanges and enhanced interoperability. Several other friendly foreign countries are also participating as observers.
The multinational exercise provides an opportunity for participating forces to undertake complex air operations, exchange operational expertise and develop a better understanding of each other's capabilities and procedures.
The ongoing edition also includes professional interactions, subject matter expert exchanges and outreach activities aimed at strengthening defence partnerships and fostering mutual understanding among participating contingents.
The exercise underscores India's efforts to expand defence engagement with partner nations through joint training, operational cooperation and the exchange of expertise across military services. (ANI)
New Zealand eyes deeper role in Exercise Tarang Shakti; Defence Adviser says maritime a key area of cooperation with India
