New Zealand warship makes rare transit through sensitive Taiwan Strait

New Zealand Navy’s largest ship transited through strait, defence minister says

HMNZS Aotearoa

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27 Nov 2025, 10:02 pm

The New Zealand Navy’s largest ship, the oiler HMNZS Aotearoa, made a rare transit through the sensitive Taiwan Strait earlier this month, Defence Minister Judith Collins told Reuters.

One source with knowledge of the situation said the ship was tracked and followed by Chinese forces as it sailed through the strait.

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Collins did not comment on any Chinese activity but said the transit was conducted in accordance with international law. “This includes exercising the right to freedom of navigation, as guaranteed under the United Nations Convention of the Law of the Sea,” she said in an e-mail.

The ship sailed from the South China Sea to the North Asian region via the Taiwan Strait on November 5, the minister added.

The mission has not been previously reported.

China, which claims democratically governed Taiwan as its own, says it alone exercises sovereignty and jurisdiction over the strait. Both the US and Taiwan say the strait – a major trade route through which about half of global container ships pass – is an international waterway.

The last publicised strait transit by New Zealand’s navy, accompanied by an Australian Navy ship, took place in September last year. That was the first time a New Zealand naval ship had passed through the strait since 2017.

The source said that during the sailing, Chinese ships and aircraft monitored the Aotearoa, with Chinese jets carrying out simulated attacks.

The Chinese defence ministry did not respond to a request for comment.

Taiwan’s defence ministry said in a statement that its armed forces, “maintain comprehensive awareness of all military activities across the region and respond appropriately, ensuring national defence security”. It did not elaborate.

The transit coincided with Taiwan reporting that China had, on November 6, carried out another “joint combat readiness patrol” around the island involving J-16 fighter jets, with the activity concentrated in the strait and to Taiwan’s southwest.

The South Korea-built Aotearoa is not armed with heavy weapons, but is equipped to carry a helicopter. It is used for replenishment of fuel and other goods at sea.

The New Zealand Defence Force said last month the ship was planning to take part in United Nations sanctions enforcement missions related to North Korea around Japan.

New Zealand, like most countries, has no formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan, but Taipei sees it as an important like-minded democratic partner and both maintain de facto embassies in each other’s capitals.

New Zealand is also one of only two major countries, along with Singapore, to have a free trade agreement with Taiwan.

US warships sail through the strait every few months, drawing the ire of Beijing, and some US allies like Canada and Britain have also made occasional transits.

China, which has never renounced the use of force to bring Taiwan under its control, has over the past five years stepped up military activities around the island, including staging war games.

Taiwan’s democratically-elected government rejects Beijing’s sovereignty claims.

(Reporting by Greg Torode, Yimou Lee and Lucy Craymer; Additional reporting by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan)

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Long-term plan to rebuild Defence estate – NZDF

• Hon Chris Penk

The Government has unveiled a long-term plan to modernise Defence Force infrastructure that will strengthen military resilience and create building and construction jobs across New Zealand.

“The national security of New Zealand depends on a strong Defence estate that empowers the Force to perform at its best,” Associate Minister Chris Penk says.

“Modern facilities support personnel to train, deploy and operate equipment at their peak, while safe and healthy workplaces and homes are essential for their wellbeing.

“Sadly, our infrastructure is not equipped to realise this vision. Much of it is aged, fragile and prone to failure, with more than 70 percent of New Zealand Defence Force infrastructure now having less than 20 years of useful life remaining.

“Failure to act will result in facility closures, degraded training that undermines operational capability, and increased risks to personnel. Regenerating the estate is essential to maintain a high level of operational readiness.

“The Defence Estate Portfolio Plan (DEPP) sets out a long-term vision to deliver major regeneration by 2040, ensuring our camps, bases and training areas are fit for purpose and equipped to meet the needs of a modern Defence Force.

“The DEPP sets out the investment priorities for the $2.5 billion identified in the Defence Capability Plan 2025 to modernise and strengthen Defence infrastructure over the next four years, subject to annual budget processes.

“It replaces earlier regeneration plans and takes a more holistic portfolio approach by bringing together service-critical assets, training infrastructure, and housing across the Defence estate.”

As part of the DEPP, Cabinet has given the green light to the Future Naval Base Programme.

“Devonport Naval Base is vital to the Defence Force as New Zealand’s only naval port, yet the current infrastructure cannot fully meet the Navy’s operational, training and support requirements,” Mr Penk says.

“The Programme addresses historic underinvestment with significant new projects to provide fit-for-purpose accommodation, training facilities, wharf improvements and horizontal infrastructure.

“Investment also extends to associated sites such as Narrow Neck, Kauri Point, and the Tamaki Leadership Centre at Whangaparāoa.

“These upgrades will be rolled out in tranches, enhancing the Royal New Zealand Navy’s ability to operate safely and effectively. The first tranche is already underway, with $25 million in capital funding provided through Budget 2025.”

Alongside the Future Naval Base Programme, the DEPP supports the continuation of five other programmes that back Defence capability and renew infrastructure.

These include:

• Defence Estate Regeneration Programme (DERP) – Renewing ageing, service-critical infrastructure using depreciation reserves across camps and bases, training areas and regional facilities.
• Horizontal Infrastructure Workstream – Upgrading essential services like water, power, ICT, and roads across Defence sites.
• Homes for Families Programme – Delivering modern housing for Defence families at multiple locations.
• Ōhakea Infrastructure Programme – Supporting Air Force capability through targeted infrastructure upgrades at RNZAF Base Ōhakea.
• Accommodation Messing and Dining Modernisation Programme – Upgrading barracks, messing and dining facilities to improve living standards and support retention.

“Altogether, this is a generational investment in Defence infrastructure that strengthens strategic objectives, bolsters preparedness, and ensures our people have the facilities to excel at work and recharge while off duty,” Mr Penk says.

“The DEPP also delivers a boost for New Zealand’s building and construction industry. Renovations and new projects across bases and camps nationwide will create jobs and economic opportunities in local communities for years to come.

“This Government is investing in the foundations of our Defence Force. We are building the infrastructure that enables capability, supports our hard-working servicemen and women, and safeguards our country.”

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Amokura and fire drill - HMS Sparrow was a Redbreast-class gunboat launched in 1889, the sixth Royal Navy ship to bear the name. She became the New Zealand training ship NZS Amokura in 1906 and was sold in 1922.

 

HMAS/HMNZS Stawell (J348 -M348)

HMNZS Stawell passing at the head of a fleet of small craft under the main navigation span of the Auckland Harbour Bridge during its official opening ceremony. At the same moment, the car of Governor-General Lord Cobham, led the procession across the bridge.
HMNZS Stawell, Auckland Harbour Bridge Opening Day, 1959-05-30

HMNZS Stawell
RAN
The majority of Starwell’s career was spent in three areas. Initially, she served as a convoy escort along the east coast of Australia.[1] Following this, Stawell participated in a variety of escort, minesweeping, and combat roles throughout New Guinea waters.[1] In the final third of her career, the ship spent time in Hong Kong waters, performing minsweeping and anti-piracy duties.[1] Stawell returned to Brisbane in November 1945.[1]

The corvette received three battle honours for her wartime service: “Pacific 1943–45”, “New Guinea 1943–44”, and “Borneo 1945”.[10][11]

RNZN
Stawell was removed from RAN service on 26 March 1946.[1] On 5 March 1952, Stawell and three other Bathurst-class corvettes (HMA Ships Echuca, Inverell, and Kiama) were transferred to the Royal New Zealand Navy.[12]

She was commissioned into the RNZN during May 1952 and given the prefix HMNZS.[13] Stawell operated primarily as a training vessel until 1959, when she was placed into reserve
Fate
Stawell was sold to Pacific Scrap Limited of Auckland, New Zealand in July 1968, and was broken up for scrap.

HMNZS Stawell alongside HMAS Voyager – Daring Class

HMNZS Royalist and HMNZS Stawell being readied for scrapping. Royalist towed to Japan – Stawell was sold to Pacific Scrap Limited of Auckland, New Zealand in July 1968, and was broken up for scrap

HMNZS Stawell as HMAS Stawell

HMNZS Stawell

Stawell (J348/M348) was a Bathurst-class corvette named for the town of Stawell, Victoria.^[1] Sixty Bathurst-class corvettes were constructed during World War II, and Stawell was one of 36 initially manned and commissioned solely by the Royal Australian Navy (RAN).^[1]

The corvette later served in the Royal New Zealand Navy (RNZN) as HMNZS Stawell.

Design and construction

Main article: Bathurst-class corvette

In 1938, the Australian Commonwealth Naval Board (ACNB) identified the need for a general purpose ‘local defence vessel’ capable of both anti-submarine and mine-warfare duties, while easy to construct and operate.^[2][3] The vessel was initially envisaged as having a displacement of approximately 500 tons, a speed of at least 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph), and a range of 2,000 nautical miles (3,700 km; 2,300 mi)^[4] The opportunity to build a prototype in the place of a cancelled Bar-class boom defence vessel saw the proposed design increased to a 680-ton vessel, with a 15.5 knots (28.7 km/h; 17.8 mph) top speed, and a range of 2,850 nautical miles (5,280 km; 3,280 mi), armed with a 4-inch (102 mm) gun, equipped with asdic, and able to fitted with either depth charges or minesweeping equipment depending on the planned operations: although closer in size to a sloop than a local defence vessel, the resulting increased capabilities were accepted due to advantages over British-designed mine warfare and anti-submarine vessels.^[2][5] Construction of the prototype HMAS Kangaroo did not go ahead, but the plans were retained.^[6] The need for locally built ‘all-rounder’ vessels at the start of World War II saw the “Australian Minesweepers” (designated as such to hide their anti-submarine capability, but popularly referred to as “corvettes”) approved in September 1939, with 60 constructed during the course of the war: 36 (including Stawell) ordered by the RAN, 20 ordered by the British Admiralty but manned and commissioned as RAN vessels, and 4 for the Royal Indian Navy.^{[2][7][8][9][1]}

Stawell was laid down by HMA Naval Dockyard at Williamstown, Victoria on 18 June 1942.^[1] She was launched on 3 April 1943 by Mrs. J. J. Dedman, wife of the Minister for War Organisation, and commissioned into the RAN on 7 August 1943.^[1]

Operational history

RAN

The majority of Stawell‘s career was spent in three areas. Initially, she served as a convoy escort along the east coast of Australia.^[1] Following this, Stawell participated in a variety of escort, minesweeping, and combat roles throughout New Guinea waters.^[1] On 3 August 1945 she sank an armed Daihatsu barge in the Moluccas area.^[10] In the final third of her career, the ship spent time in Hong Kong waters, performing minsweeping and anti-piracy duties.^[1] Stawell returned to Brisbane in November 1945.^[1]

The corvette received three battle honours for her wartime service: “Pacific 1943–45”, “New Guinea 1943–44”, and “Borneo 1945”.^[11][12]

RNZN

Stawell was removed from RAN service on 26 March 1946.^[1] On 5 March 1952, Stawell and three other Bathurst-class corvettes (HMA Ships Echuca, Inverell, and Kiama) were transferred to the Royal New Zealand Navy.^[13]

She was commissioned into the RNZN during May 1952 and given the prefix HMNZS.^[14] Stawell operated primarily as a training vessel until 1959, when she was placed into reserve.^[1][14]

Fate

Stawell was sold to Pacific Scrap Limited of Auckland, New Zealand, in July 1968, and was broken up for scrap.

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HMNZS/HMAS Echuca (J252/M252)

AppleMark

HMNZS/HMAS Echuca
HMAS Echuca (J252/M252), named for the town of Echuca, Victoria, was one of 60 Bathurst-class corvettes constructed during World War II, and one of 36 initially manned and commissioned by the Royal Australian Navy (RAN)

RNZN service
On 5 March 1952, Echuca and three other Bathurst-class corvettes (HMA Ships Inverell, Kiama, and Stawell) were transferred to the Royal New Zealand Navy (RNZN).[12] She was commissioned into the RNZN in May 1952, and received the prefix HMNZS.[13]

The week ( 24th June, 1957), divers from HMNZS Stawell and Echuca – Bathurst Class Corvettes took part in righting and salvaging Auckland Harbour Board Dredge Hapai. Hapai had capsized and sank off Cheltenham Beach on 24th June, 1957.

Echuca was brought out of the reserve to assist with the salvage, her only service in the RNZN. She was then sold in April 1967 and broken up at the Western Viaduct and Meola Creek.

HMAS Echuca

The corvette remained in service with the RNZN until 1967, although from 1953 she was classified as being in reserve.[1][13] She was sold to Pacific Scrap Limited of Auckland for scrapping[1] on 11 April 1967
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMAS_Echuca

The image shows the HMAS Echuca, a Bathurst-class corvette that served in the Royal Australian Navy during World War II. 

HMAS Echuca

• The ship was one of 60 Bathurst-class corvettes built in Australia during the war. 
• It was commissioned on September 7, 1942, and initially served as an anti-submarine patrol and convoy escort vessel along the eastern Australian coast and in New Guinea waters. 
• In August 1944, it was ordered to Darwin and attached to the United States Seventh Fleet’s Survey Group. 
• After the war, it participated in sweeping operations in New Britain and the Solomon Islands before returning to Australia and being paid off into the Reserve Fleet in August 1946. 

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No. 6 Squadron RNZAF – Vigilance with Patience

This year marks a significant milestone for No. 6 Squadron RNZAF, celebrating 20 years since its reestablishment as the Royal New Zealand Navy’s maritime helicopter unit.

21 November, 2025

But as an aviation squadron, its history goes back even further – forming, disbanded and reforming several times, adapting to the changing demands of New Zealand’s military aviation requirements.

First established in February 1942, the Squadron began as an Army cooperation unit flying Vickers and Hawker biplane trainers before converting to Catalina amphibious aircraft a year later. Operating across the Pacific Islands throughout the Second World War, the Catalinas of No. 6 Squadron played a vital role in reconnaissance, search and rescue, and maritime patrol missions.

At the end of hostilities, the Squadron transitioned to the Short Sunderland flying boats, continuing its maritime surveillance role until 1957, when No. 6 Squadron was disbanded and its aircraft transferred to No. 5 Squadron. The Sunderland’s were eventually replaced by the P-3 Orion in 1967, marking a new era in long-range maritime patrol for the Royal New Zealand Air Force.

Meanwhile, the Royal New Zealand Navy was developing its own airborne capability with the purchase of frigates with flight decks. In 1966, HMNZS Waikato became the first RNZN vessel to embark the Westland Wasp anti-submarine helicopter. This changed the role of a combat frigate to include being a platform to deliver Naval Aviation Combat capabilities.

No. 3 Squadron, which had become a dedicated helicopter squadron, operated the Wasp helicopters for the next three decades.

At the time, maintaining the Naval Support Flight (NSF) within 3 Squadron made sense with the number of aircraft and the technical needs to support them leading naturally to finding capacity from within an existing Squadron rather than commissioning a new one. Co-location at Hobsonville also made sense despite the outputs of NSF being very distinct from those provided through Iroquois operations.

When the Wasps retired in 1998, they were replaced by the Kaman SH-2F Seasprite as an interim measure before the new the SH-2G(NZ) were delivered. For the Commander of the Naval Support Flight at the time, Lieutenant Commander Jim Gilmour, the new helicopters were a real pleasure to fly.

“They were an extraordinary leap forward in terms of capability – range and endurance, twin engine, radar, FLIR, ESM, self protection, data link (such as it was) and Anti-ship missiles (Maverick) all made the transition a positive experience,” he said.

With the arrival of the Seasprite, it was obvious that Naval Aviation had matured and expanded significantly.

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When the relocation of Iroquois operations to Ohakea occurred along with the move of the Naval Support Flight from Hobsonville to Whenuapai, it became clear to LTCDR Gilmour, that a new squadron was needed.

“I considered this a reflection of the emergence of a critical strand of Naval combat outputs and deserving of the status and support that a separate entity should bring.”

In 2004, LTCDR Gilmour piloted his last Seasprite flight and concluded his time with the NSF unit taking up the Director Naval Aviation position in Wellington on promotion to Commander. While he moved between these roles, his key objective was to petition the Chief of Air Force at the time to establish a new squadron.

“I spent a great deal of time forming the argument and was proud to convince CAF of its merits and to see the re-establishment of No. 6 Squadron as a dedicated naval aviation unit take place shortly after.”

The re-establishment of the Squadron in October 2005 marked a new chapter in joint Air Force–Navy cooperation, integrating RNZN aircrew with RNZAF maintenance personnel to deliver a seamless maritime aviation capability.

By that stage, five of the SH-2G(NZ) Seasprite variants had joined the fleet and then In 2015, ten ex-Royal Australian Navy SH-2G(I) Seasprites were acquired to replace the NZ type, expanding the Squadron’s capability and reach.

Today, No. 6 Squadron currently supports HMNZ ships Te Kaha, Te Mana, Canterbury and Aotearoa in operations ranging from anti-surface and anti-submarine warfare to search and rescue, surveillance, maritime sustainment and disaster relief.

The 20^th anniversary of the Seasprite squadron also coincides with the Government’s recent announcement of the Sikorsky MH-60R Seahawk as the replacement for the Seasprite fleet. This ensures that No. 6 Squadron will continue to deliver world-class maritime helicopter capability well into the future. The transition will enhance interoperability with allies, particularly the Royal Australian Navy, which also operates the MH-60R.

For the Commanding Officer, Commander Alex Trotter, the anniversary is one which arrives during a busy and rewarding period for the unit.

“With a flight deployed on operations in the South China Sea, and the rest of the squadron conducting mountain flying training in the South Island, it’s the perfect example of the wide spectrum of capabilities the squadron provides in diverse operating environments,” he said.

“It’s important we reflect on 20 years of achievements in delivering a warfighting capability to the Royal New Zealand Navy, as well as the myriad of other outputs to various stakeholders within the NZDF and other government agencies. And it’s equally appropriate we recognise our personnel – the sailors, aviators and civilians. Their professionalism, dedication and adaptability remain at the heart of the Squadron’s success.”

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