The 3-day Exercise Cooperation Spirit 2012 has ended in the Australian coastal city of Brisbane and Enoggera Barracks. It's the first time New Zealand, China, Australia have held such a joint drill on humanitarian assistance and disaster relief.

The 3-day Exercise Cooperation Spirit 2012 has ended in the Australian coastal city of Brisbane and Enoggera Barracks.

The New Zealand Defense Force, China's People's Liberation Army and the Australian Defense Force took part. It aims to further develop relationships, interoperability and focused on responses to humanitarian crises. Cooperation Spirit 2012 built on the respective humanitarian assistance and disaster relief experiences of the three nations. As part of the exercise, a number of experiences were shared, including a Defense Force presentation on the Christchurch earthquake response.

The exercise also involved a discussion based table top planning activity, a Multinational Medical Unit capability demonstration, and a tour of flood-affected areas of Brisbane. The Australian Defense Force previously conducted a planning exercise with the PLA in April 2010, while China's PLA hosted Exercise Cooperation Spirit 2011 last November. Australia's Foreign Minister said the drills are crucial in strengthening mutual trust in the field of military defense between the two countries.

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