WELLINGTON - New Zealand will become the second non-member state to join a NATO anti-piracy exercise in the Gulf of Aden, the New Zealand government announced Wednesday.

Defense Minister Jonathan Coleman said New Zealand navy frigate HMNZS Te Mana would participate in Operation Ocean Shield for three weeks from January 23.

"HMNZS Te Mana has spent the past six weeks successfully operating in the Gulf of Aden supporting the Combined Maritime Forces (CMF), a multi-national naval partnership of 30 nations," Coleman said in a statement.

Participating in Operation Ocean Shield was a good opportunity for the New Zealand Defense Force to test its interoperability with contributing NATO nations.

"This deployment is an example of New Zealand's commitment to playing our part in supporting NATO in areas of common interest," he said.

The Te Mana would rejoin CMF operations after its rotation with NATO before returning to New Zealand in March.

In June 2012, Prime Minister John Key signed a partnership arrangement with NATO, which identified maritime security as a key area of mutual security interest.

New Zealand was the second NATO partner nation, after Ukraine, to contribute to Ocean Shield, said Coleman.