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PLA Army 95th Anniversary Event – Friday 29 July
Chief of Army Remarks
Tena koutou katou
Ge wei laibin
{distinguished guests} Da jia wanshang hao
{good evening to all} Your Excellency Ambassador Wang
, distinguished guests
, ladies
and gentlemen – good evening.
First, I would like to thank Senior Colonel Ke
and the defence staff
at the
Chinese Embassy for inviting me to speak tonight on behalf
of the New Zealand Defence Force and the Ministry of Defence.
I’m very pleased to be with you all this evening at Te Papa
Tongarewa to recognise the 95th Anniversary of the founding of the
People’s Liberation Army.
Minister Henare regrettably couldn’t be with us this evening,
however, in the spirit of cooperation I note the recent, and first in-
person meeting between Minister Henare and Minister Wei Fenghe
in the margins of the Shangri La Dialogue in Singapore.
In April last year, the New Zealand Army also celebrated a
significant milestone, its 175th anniversary. Like the important
milestone we mark today, it was an opportunity to reflect on the
service and sacrifice of our service men and women.
Since its inception in 1927, the PLA has undergone a rapid
transformation of scale and modernisation. The PLA brings
formidable resources to global security challenges. Today, the New
Zealand Defence Force operates alongside the PLA through
contributions to global peace support operations. This includes our
respective contributions to the United Nations Mission in South
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Sudan (UNMISS), which plays a central role in international efforts
to address the security and humanitarian crisis in South Sudan. Our
personnel are also deployed to the UN’s oldest peacekeeping
mission, the United Nations Truce Supervision Organisation
(UNTSO), established to supervise implementation of the Israel-
Arab Armistice Agreements.
The China – New Zealand defence relationship is underpinned by
formal dialogues, senior exchanges, cooperation in international
activities and multilateral cooperation.
Our defence relationship is based on openness and respect. We
appreciate opportunities to meet with China, and build on our
people-to-people links.
Importantly, these engagements provide a mechanism to gain a
greater understanding of each other’s perspective, which is
especially valuable when those perspectives differ.
This year also marks the
50th anniversary of diplomatic relations
between our two countries. This is an important milestone for our
relationship – just as China is an important partner for New Zealand.
Since diplomatic relations were established in 1972, the bilateral
relationship between New Zealand and China has grown to become
one of significance.
Maintaining people-to-people links, and promoting understanding,
between our two countries remains as important as ever, particularly
as we navigate an increasingly unstable and uncertain world.
I want to take this opportunity to say a special thank you to Senior
Colonel Ke
and his team for all your support for the defence
relationship.
Senior Colonel Ke, I understand you are nearing the end of your
posting to Wellington. I hope you enjoyed your time here in New
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Zealand and enjoyed the cultural and natural beauty of our home. I
wish you all the best for your journey home and your next role.
To close, ladies and gentlemen, I ask you to raise your glasses to
the 95th anniversary of the PLA, to the China – New Zealand
defence relationship, and to our gracious hosts.
Thank you.
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