U.S.-Australia Talks Focus on Future of ANZUS Treaty
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SAN FRANCISCO — Top diplomats from the United States and Australia are gathered for a two-day meeting at which the future of the ANZUS treaty is expected to top the agenda.
The principal players are Secretary of State George P. Shultz and Australian Foreign Minister Bill Hayden. As happened last year, the third ANZUS treaty country, New Zealand, declined to participate in the annual talks.
Also on hand are Defense Secretary Caspar W. Weinberger and his Australian counterpart, Ken Minister.
Today, Hayden was scheduled to visit Shultz’s Palo Alto home and attend a private barbecue in nearby Menlo Park. The four leaders, accompanied by a host of lesser diplomats, planned on meeting Monday at the Presidio of San Francisco and to wrap up the session with a dinner bay cruise.
The ANZUS treaty has been in limbo since 1985, when New Zealand barred nuclear-armed or -powered U.S. ships from its waters. The treaty states that an attack on any of the three nations constitutes an attack on all three.
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