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New Zealand has appointed Commodore Andy Dowling, the former Defence Adviser Australia, as New Zealand’s first full-time Defence adviser to be based in New Delhi.
Commodore Dowling will take up the three-year posting at the New Zealand high commission in New Delhi.
His posting is expected to follow up significant engagement last year between both countries, notably Prime Minister Christopher Luxon’s visit to India in March to pursue bilateral agreements.
The visit involved the signing of the India-New Zealand Memorandum of Understanding for Defence Cooperation, aimed at strengthening bilateral defence cooperation and establishing regular bilateral defence engagement.
At the same time, frigate HMNZS Te Kaha, deployed to Command Task Force 150 to pursue drug traffickers in the Western Indian Ocean, visited Mumbai.
New Zealand led CTF 150 in 2025, with India as second-in-command, and used HMNZS Te Kaha, Indian Navy and other assets to seize seven tonnes of narcotics between April and June.
Commodore Dowling said a strong relationship with India needs to consider defence and security.
“These are their most important considerations. The neighbourhood they live in is quite a tough one.”
Commodore Dowling is familiar with India. The New Zealand Defence adviser to Australia has historically been “cross-accredited” to India and he’s already visited India four times in the last year.
India is the third-largest economy in the world and has an enormous military, including a 1.3 million-strong army and a naval fleet of 250 vessels. Until about 10 years ago they were more domestically than externally focused, Commodore Dowling said.
“Domestic security was their worry.”
However, this changed when India’s 1991 “Look East” policy evolved to “Act East” in 2014. It was a push towards strategic partnerships in defence, connectivity and cultural exchanges with an aim to promote a free and stable Indo-Pacific region.
Last year, India participated for the first time in Exercise Talisman Sabre in Australia, alongside 19 nations.
“We’re seeing the ‘Act East’ with the Indian Navy in particular,” Commodore Dowling said.
“They’re deploying out of the Indian Ocean, exercising with other countries and visiting New Zealand and Australia. They’re getting out and about and that’s only going to increase in the coming years.
“By having a Defence adviser in India, it will allow us to understand their system better to identify and explore opportunities for our two nations to work together.
“The New Zealand Defence Force had a busy year last year with India – Te Kaha visiting, CTF 150, the first Ministry of Defence to Ministry of Defence talks – but we need our interactions with them to be sustainable.
“We’re not going to turn up with a frigate every week. But I’ll soon be in a place to have the dialogue and spot opportunities.
“They regard us very highly and see us as the ‘honest broker’ in the world. Their Navy does a lot of things very similarly to us, like flying operations, refuelling at sea, and they are very professional, efficient and good to work with.”
“They have P-8 aircraft like us, they operate the MH-60 helicopter which we’re getting, and they have the C-130J Hercules. Their hydrographer training is similar, they operate a sea training group very like our Maritime Training Group. So, they have structures and capabilities that we recognise.
“I was asked midway through last year, is this something Claire and I would like to do? We saw it as a great opportunity and adventure. It’s not often you get to set up something from scratch. It’s a real privilege we’re eager to grasp with both hands.”
