New Zealand and India announced Saturday a strategic partnership encompassing defence and security, during a landmark visit by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon feted his guest with an indigenous Maori welcome and guard of honour, seeking to expand relations after signing a free-trade pact in April that he has touted as an economic boon.

Modi’s visit, at the tail end of a July 6-11 tour that has also taken him to Indonesia and Australia, came in the aftermath of China test-firing a ballistic missile into the Pacific Ocean on Monday, stirring unease in the region.

It was the first visit to New Zealand by an Indian prime minister in 40 years, a sign of Delhi’s deeper engagement at a time of strengthened Chinese diplomatic and military presence in the Pacific.

Modi described the creation of the strategic partnership as a “milestone” that would inspire greater energy and confidence, as he was hosted by the New Zealand leader at Government House in Auckland.

“Our firm belief in democratic values makes us natural partners,” he said.

The pact covers tighter defence cooperation, including with naval exercises, as well as stronger ties in trade, diplomacy, culture, sport and science, the two countries said in a joint statement.

Their nations have a shared interest in a “free, open, peaceful and prosperous Indo-Pacific”, they said.

The two countries “quickly canvassed” the Chinese missile test, Luxon told reporters in a briefing after the talks.

He skirted a question about whether closer New Zealand-India ties would curb Beijing’s ambitions in the region.

– ‘Outright racism’ –

“We are a small trading nation. We are a maritime nation. We need to have as many relationships as we possibly can with partners around the world that are like-minded, and some of those are around defence, and some of those around trade, some around both.”

New Zealand supported a growing “multi-lattice” of arrangements in defence and trade emerging between countries in the region, he said, adding: “That’s how we drive prosperity through security.”

Modi was also feted by an estimated 10,000 or more supporters from among the country’s 300,000-strong Indian diaspora gathering at a community event in Auckland’s Spark Arena.

But outside the stadium, about 20 Sikh protesters demonstrated with a mannequin of Modi in prison clothes, describing the Hindu nationalist as the face of “Hindu terror” in India.

That sparked more than 100 supporters of the Indian leader to chant: “Modi, Modi”, leading scores of police to intervene to keep the two sides apart.

Luxon, who faces New Zealand general elections in November, has been promoting the jobs and economic benefits of the free trade deal with India, which is awaiting parliamentary approval.