P.M. rejects idea of ally influence

Press, 2 May 1988, Page 1

P.M. rejects idea of ally influence

By

TOM BRIDGMAN,

NZPA correspondent

Santa Barbara, California The Prime Minister, Mr Lange, has rejected arguments that New Zealand would have more say on disarmament if it were an ally of the United States. "Certainly there is no evidence that being an unquestioning junior member of a nuclear alliance somehow provides a means to influence decisions on nuclear strategy,” he said. President Reagan said last month, when accepting the credentials of the New Zealand Ambassador, Mr Tim Francis, that New Zealand would have more influence on disarmament if it were an American ally. That status had been taken from New Zealand by the United States as a result of the A.N.Z.U.S. break over nuclearpowered or nuclear-armed naval ships being unable to enter New Zealand ports. Accepting the 1988 Distinguished Peace Leadership Award from the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation in Santa Barbara, California, Mr Lange outlined the defence and historic arguments through which New Zealand arrived at its anti-nuclear policies. The issues associated with

nuclear weapons were enormously complex, he said. “Those who have them are inclined to see questions of deployment, use and control as their own business. “It is not always easy for smaller States to register the point that they have a direct interest. It has certainly been difficult for us to have any real influence on such matters,” said Mr Lange. He told the gathering of about 600 wealthy people from Santa Barbara, a beachside town about two hours drive north of Los Angeles, that the traditional view was that the only- realistic response to the threat of nuclear attack was to build a bomb a? a deterrent. “If you are too small to build your own, you stick close to someone who does have one,” he said. “Somewhat ironically, the same argument is made about having a say in the nuclear arms control and disarmament process. “The entry ticket is said to be either the possession of nuclear weapons or holding on to the coat-tails of a nuclear Power.” Some critics of New Zealand had argued that the country had now lost “this seat at the table”

and could, no longer have any real influence. “I reject this analysis,” he said. “Indeed, perhaps never before have New Zealand’s views on the nuclear issue been of such interest abroad.” i!-' Mr Lange took the opportunity of his speech to the anti-nuclear public policy group to emphasise that it was no idealistic or isolationist stance that had brought New Zealand to its decision to bar nuclear-powered or nucleararmed ships. "Opting out from the world can never be an option for New Zealand,” he said. Mr Lange said that even though a small country might see some issues differently from larger ones “that does not suggest that its grip on reality is any less firm.” Mr Lange said the anti-nuclear policy was part of a shift to a strategy emphasising regional security. “We concluded that nuclear weapons were not relevant to the security needs of our region,” he said. “We are now moving to reshape our forces and equip them for the situations they are most likely to face.” Dollar, page 8