US lifts Royal New Zealand Navy ban

21 September 2012

The United States has lifted a 27-year ban which prevented ships from the Royal New Zealand Navy from entering US ports, it has been announced.

US Defence Secretary Leon Panetta heralded the move as he became the first Pentagon chief to visit New Zealand following the nuclear disagreements between the two countries in the 1980s.

New Zealand first banned nuclear-armed or nuclear-powered ships from its ports in 1985, beginning with the USS Buchanan in February of that year. The country legislated to become a declared nuclear-free zone in 1987.

"While we acknowledge that our countries continue to have differences of opinion in some limited areas, today we have affirmed that we are embarking on a new course in our relationship that will not let those differences stand in the way of greater engagement on security issues," Panetta said.

He added that the policy change would make it easier for the military of both countries to "engage in discussions on security issues and to hold co-operative engagements, adding that the changes were in the interest of both sides.

"I suspect that soon we'll be able to see one of those ships in our ports," he said.

The move comes in the year the US announced it was shifting its defence focus to the Asia-Pacific region in a bid to focus on the military rise of China and the possible threat from North Korea.

America has already announced it is to base thousands more US Marines in Australia as part of the strategic changes.

A US defence official said that the primary purpose of this trip is to engage in a "dialogue" with New Zealand on where they see themselves in the "rebalance, [and] where we can work together as part and parcel of this overall strategy."