U.S. Rejects Nuclear-Free S. Pacific Zone

The U.S. government refused to endorse a treaty making the South Pacific region a nuclear-free zone because of concern that it would encourage other areas to adopt similar pacts banning testing, deployment and storage of nuclear weapons, the State Department announced Thursday.

Australia, the largest nation in the South Pacific region and a longtime U.S. ally, was a leading proponent of the treaty. Australian Foreign Minister Bill Hayden criticized the U.S. decision, saying that the pact would not compromise Western security interests.

The treaty, signed by Australia, New Zealand and 11 tiny island nations, would prohibit the testing, deployment and storage of nuclear weapons in the region but would not ban the passage of nuclear-armed warships.

State Department spokesman Charles Redman said the United States will not adhere to the treaty, although the signatory nations are free to abide by it.

Endorsed by Soviets

The Soviet Union already has endorsed the treaty, and China is expected to do so shortly. Australia complained that Soviet approval coupled with U.S. rejection would give Moscow a propaganda coup in the region.

Redman said that the United States does not engage in any activities in the region that would be prohibited by the pact but added that Washington rejected it “in view of our global security interests and responsibilities.”

“We view the growing number of proposals for regional nuclear-free zones as having the potential to undermine the policy of deterrence which has been the cornerstone of Western security since World War II,” Redman said. “A proliferation of such zones in the Free World, unmatched by disarmament in the Soviet Bloc, is clearly detrimental to Western security.”

The United States earlier endorsed a nuclear-free zone in Latin America. It also adheres to nuclear-free treaties covering Antarctica and the seabed.

Redman said the United States evaluates each proposed nuclear-free zone on its own merits. He said Washington approved the pact for Latin America because some nations of the region had not previously signed the nuclear non-proliferation treaty, making the nuclear-free zone an effective way to prevent nations in the region from developing their own nuclear weapons.

All the nations in the South Pacific region have accepted the non-proliferation treaty, he added.

Rep. Stephen J. Solarz (D-N.Y.), chairman of the House Foreign Affairs subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific, denounced the Administration’s decision. He said it will cause “concern and consternation” in the region and “make us appear insensitive to the very real concerns of the nations involved.”

In a statement, Solarz said that his committee plans hearings on the issue in the near future.

Much of the anti-nuclear sentiment in the region is directed at France, which conducts atmospheric nuclear tests in the South Pacific. The U.S. decision is sure to be applauded in Paris.

New Zealand has banned nuclear-armed and nuclear-powered warships from its ports. The United States, which never confirms or denies the presence of nuclear weapons aboard its ships or aircraft, canceled its mutual defense treaty with New Zealand after the Wellington government said it would allow port visits only by ships that were certified not to be carrying nuclear weapons.