The British government has rejected a bid by the Australian and New Zealand government to prevent Fijian nationals serving in the British Army.

The Commonwealth Secretary General Don McKinnon had earlier said that Britain should set an example by refusing to recruit soldiers from a country whose military has carried out a coup.

However, speaking to Radio New Zealand, a senior officer at the Center for Strategic Studies in Wellington said that the decision by the British Army to continue its recruitment in Fiji was necessary.

He said the British Army gets its recruits from Fiji as they find more people in the country with military experience, who understand the military system, and who can be trained in the British way with minimum problems.

More than 2000 Fijians currently serve in the British Armed Forces.