Three of New Zealand's nine naval ships are sitting idle in port as higher civilian salaries lure personnel out of the military, the country's Defence Force said on Wednesday, even as tensions in the Pacific rise between China and the U.S. and its allies.
The HMNZS Wellington, an offshore patrol vessel, headed back to New Zealand early from what was meant to be aand was taken out of operation in November because of shortages, the New Zealand Defence Force said.
The bottom line is "workforce issues are impacting ship availability to deliver naval outputs," an August note from the Chief of the Defence Force Air Marshal Kevin Short to the Minister of Defence said. "Risks remain to Naval output delivery if attrition and hollowness cannot be addressed in a timely manner."
Having so few ships available makes it harder for the navy to handle multiple challenges at once, a New Zealand Defence Force spokesperson said. New Zealand, which spends roughly 1.5% its of GDP on defence, this year announced it would review its own defence policy in light of regional geopolitics and climate change. The review is not expected to be completed until 2024.
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