Basic HTML Version
PAGE 6
PASTOR GENERAL'S REPORT, FEBRUARY 15, 1985
ing countries. All this promotes order and stability in the re
gion.
Joint military exercises are held annually. An exercise in New
Zealand in October (Anzus Triad '84) brought together the largest
assemblage of military aircraft there since World War II•••• The
New Zealand army has one of its two active battalions in Singa
pore, a stationing justified by the Anzus relationship.
The
other one is capable of being transported at short notice from
New Zealand to points of tension in the South Pacific.
The treaty is especially important in light of the recent Soviet
buildup in Asia and the Pacific. U.S. Adm. Robert Long has char
acterizedthe increasein Soviet Pacific forces as the most dra
matic military action in the past decade.
Adm. William J.
Crowe, commander of all U.S. military forces in the Pacific
theater, said in December that the status of Vietnam's Cam Ranh
Bay as a permanent Soviet facility was a "very alarming develop
ment."
Japan estimates that the Soviets have 2,220 combat aircraft in
East Asia. The number includes 80 Tupolev Tu-22M backfires and
more than 1,000 MiG-27s and Su-24s. T.
he 825-ship Soviet Pacific
fleet contains two aircraft carriers and 65 nuclear-powered and
70 conventional submarines. In Cam Ranh Bay, the huge naval base
built by the U.S., the Soviets maintain a floating dock and five
piers, where 20 to 25 ships are usually in port••••
The New Zealand ban is also disturbing for other, nonstrategic,
reasons. The Pacific island countries, the Association of South
east Asian Nations, China and Japan, uneasy with the Soviet pre
sence in Vietnam and arms buildup in Asia, view Anzus ��force
for peace and stability in the region. Anzus's unofficial links
to ASEAN•••have psychological impertance.
This is especially
true since the oil and mineral reserves in the South China Sea
make it a likely area of future dispute. New Zealand and Austra
lian aircraft and ships could also help secure the passage of
U.S. and allied naval forces if they need to protect the movement
of Mideast oil through the Indian Ocean.
With the exception of Vanuatu, which has always refused visits by
American ships, the South Pacific island nations have quietly
urged New Zealand to rescind its ban. Officials of the Cook Is
lands, Fiji and Papua New Guinea have publicly voiced their
agreement with the king of Tonga, who last July said he welcomed
U.S. nuclear-powered and nuclear-armed ships••••
If New Zealand's ban isn't lifted by the meeting of Anzus foreign
ministers in July, the treaty as it stands insofar as New Zealand
is concerned will lapse. In that case, it's unlikely that the
U.S. would negotiate the treaty anew. If the U.S. and New Zea
land fail to reach agreement, as now seems likely, two results
are inevitable: New Zealand will be no safer, and the nations
supporting Western global deterrence will feel less secure.
The Pacific Security Treaty, better known as the ANZUS Pact, was signed in
San Francisco in 1951. It is a rather vague document that links the three