‘Fighting’ quelled in southern war zone
Political instability in the troubled – if fictitious – South Pacific nation of Becara at the top of New Zealand’s South Island has been suppressed by a Kiwi-led global intervention force.
Over the past five weeks, Becara – which takes in the Marlborough, Tasman, Nelson and Buller regions stretching from Greymouth to Kaiko¯ ura – has been a training ground for soldiers from Tonga, Papua New Guinea, Fiji, Chile, Brunei, Malaysia and Timor Leste. They were joined by small contingents from Australia, Canada, the United States, France and Britain.
Now in its fourth – and most ambitious – edition, the Southern Katipo military exercise is held biennially. This year, it involved 3000 people, 13 nations, six helicopters, 17 planes, five ships and more than 100 vehicles.
Southern Katipo, which began at the start of October and ended today, was a continuation of the 2015 scenario, in which New Zealand deployed a military contingent to lead a multinational joint taskforce that could help restore law and order after ethnic rivalries turned violent in Becara.
The taskforce conducted stability, support and humanitarian operations, including the evacuation of those internally displaced by the violence.
Exercise director Lieutenant Colonel Martin Dransfield said this year higher threat levels were used to create more challenging training environments for all operations.
Training for a longer period – now five weeks instead of the previous three – and in an expanded area was a ‘‘large leap forward’’ that had tested the Defence Force’s resilience in every area from communications to logistics.
‘‘In the context of this operation in the Southwest Pacific, we feel confident the New Zealand Defence Force could and would lead a joint operation taskforce into any situation we face.’’
The operation’s success owed much to the support of local communities, Dransfield said. That relationship between the military and upper South Island residents was highlighted last week when defence personnel and locals banded together to save an orca that had been stranded for more than 24 hours at Marfells Beach, near Seddon.
Southern Katipo land component commander Brigadier Mike Shapland said when they got the emergency call, each taskforce member raised their hand to volunteer. There was a ‘‘smorgasbord of military’’ assisting, including engineers and stewards. It was a great way to help the community out and finish up the exercise, he added.
Alliances had also been strengthened, with countries such as Timor Leste and Chile participating for the first time, while Foreign Affairs and Trade representatives and Health Ministry officials were involved for longer and in greater numbers.
Other organisations supporting the exercise included Customs, the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI), the New Zealand Transport Authority (NZTA), Immigration New Zealand (INZ), district health boards (DHBs), Red Cross and St John New Zealand.
Communication difficulties and the resultant friction with non-governmental agencies after the exercise shifted from a disaster scenario to an armed conflict was one issue of note – highlighting networks needing to be solidified.
However, Dransfield said the 2017 operation had been a success. ‘‘There’s an appetite to do it again but for longer and with more complex scenarios ... it keeps everyone match-fit.’’