U.S. Seeking Port Call in New Zealand

The government said Monday that the United States has asked permission to send a warship into a New Zealand port in March in what is seen as a test of its defense alliance with Australia and New Zealand.

A high-ranking government official confirmed that the request was made in connection with a planned joint naval exercise and said the government will not decide on a response for “several weeks.”

The Labor government of Prime Minister David Lange has said it will stand by its campaign promise to ban from its ports nuclear-powered ships or those carrying nuclear arms. U.S. officials have said such a ban could cause serious damage to the ANZUS (Australia-New Zealand-United States) defense treaty.