U.S.-New Zealand Rift Causes Postponement of ANZUS Pact Meeting
Prime Minister Bob Hawke on Monday indefinitely postponed the scheduled annual meeting of the Australia-New Zealand-United States defense alliance because New Zealand bars from its ports any U.S. Navy ship capable of carrying nuclear arms.
Hawke made the announcement after a meeting of his Cabinet, saying that the 33-year-old alliance, known as ANZUS, has ceased to function and that “insofar as ANZUS is a trilateral relationship, virtually nothing of it is operative now.”
Australia was to host the meeting in July.
New Zealand’s Labor government, headed by Prime Minister David Lange, bans all nuclear-powered and nuclear-armed warships from its ports, fearing they could make the country a nuclear target. As a matter of policy, the United States refuses to confirm or deny if any of its ships carry nuclear arms, and it withdrew from ANZUS military exercises because of New Zealand’s stand.
U.S. Position Backed
Australia has supported the U.S. position, which maintains it is essential for alliance ships and planes to have access to each others facilities.
Given New Zealand’s stand and the U.S. response to it, Hawke said that it was pointless to hold the annual meeting.
Lange, who is visiting London, asserted that Australia acted at the behest of the United States and said that the postponement was unfortunate because it canceled an opportunity for Washington and Wellington to thrash out their differences.
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