WELLINGTON, Oct. 23-- New Zealand military officers on Thursday praised the annual Five Power Defence Arrangement ( FPDA) drill in Singapore and Malaysia as a success in achieving greater coordination.

The New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) contingent worked alongside naval, air and ground forces from the other FPDA nations -- Australia, the United Kingdom, Singapore and Malaysia -- in a series of drills this month that ended with a two-day humanitarian aid and disaster relief scenario.

The drill, part of Exercise Bersama Lima (BL14), required FPDA forces to provide immediate relief to a fictional port city crippled by severe typhoon damage and to restore land, sea and air access to enable ongoing relief efforts.

Responding to regional disasters was an important element of the FPDA's role and coordination between militaries and non- government agencies was key to achieving this, New Zealand Army Major Kevin Williams said in a statement.

During the exercise, representatives of Singaporean and Malaysian non-military agencies took part in the exercise to help develop better understanding of working together during such events in the region.

Williams, who was deputy chief scenario officer for BL14, said the scenario was demanding, but it accurately reflected what was needed from the NZDF and other defense forces after natural disasters, such as last year's Typhoon Haiyan, which killed thousands of people in the Philippines.

"Using the resources available, such as troops, aircraft and ships, participants had to develop several courses of action within a short timeframe. These were then presented to senior officers and the plan that best achieved the mission was identified," he said.

The NZDF deployed an army platoon group and a naval dive team to BL14, which ran from Oct. 12 to 21, and a group of NZDF staff officers worked in the exercise headquarters.

The FPDA was created by the partners in 1971 to take the place of Britain forces as they withdrew from the region, leaving Malaysia and Singapore with significant gaps in their defense capabilities.