Group details ‘secret’ defence agreements

Press, 31 January 1986, Page 1

Group details ‘secret’ defence agreements

PA Wellington New Zealand participates in more than 100 agreements, memoranda and working relationships linking the A.N.Z.U.S. partners, says a research group.

' The Christchurch-based Peace. Researcher .organisation has released a list of 30 defence agreements between New Zealand and' its allies. • • A spokesman for the group, Mr Keith Burgess, said yesterday that the release was made because of: prolonged delays, by the Ministry of Defence in responding to requests for information by research groups. . It was also to make the public aware of the'many layers of defence agreements within. A.N2U.S, he said. ■ “It is especially important now, with a full defence review about to take place and with a public grossly . misinformed as to the true military relationship among New Zealand, Australia and the United States, that such a list be presented to the public,” he said. "Between 1970 to 1980, New Zealand entered, or graduated to full membership status, into a number of undisclosed military arrangements involving Australia, the United States and others. “None of these arrangements, as fundamental as they are to New Zealand’s relationship with the A.N.Z.U.S. partners, have rated a mention in annual Ministry reports, or in the J 978 and 1983 defence review papers.” Mr Burgess said the arrangements included dividing up the oceans to track Soviet vessels in an

integrated • world-wide operation. They Included making naval communications systems compatible for integrated warfare, and allocating military research and development projects.’ “Although the list does not. pretend to be complete, it includes many of the agreements the Ministry regards as secret,” he said. Peace Researcher intended to generate dicussidn using the list as the defence, review got under way, said Mr Burgess. Among arrangements listed are: • The Technical Cooperation Programme, comprising Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United States and Britain. It is designed to promote regular exchange of information. • The A.N.Z.U.S. Marsar agreement, a combined A.N.Z.U.S. operation for co-operation in maritime surveillance, details of which are classified. • The Radford-Collins agreement, which provides for division of responsiblities in the surveillance and tracking of the Soviet fleet in the Pacific and Indian Oceans. Under the agreement, New Zealand is expected to patrol part of the south-west Pacific. • The. Air Standardisation Co-ordinating Committee, made up of the United States, Britain, Canada and New Zealand. It aims to achieve stan-

dardisation. among its air forces. . • • The . United King-dom-United • States of America signals -Intelligence agreement, for cooperation and exchange of signals- Intelligence among '.the United States, Britain, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. Peace Researcher says the U.K.-U.S.A. agreement is a series of agreements, exchanges, of Tetters and memoranda of understanding.' It says the participating countries standardise their terminology, code words, intercepthandling procedures and

indoctrination oaths for efficiency and security. The agreement has . been described as: “quite likely the most secret agreement ever entered into by the English-speak-ing world,” says Peace Researcher. “It is so closely held that it h’as rarely been shown to Ministers of Defence or Prime Ministers,” it says. “There is said to be only one copy in New Zealand and this rests with the Permanent Head of the Prime Minister’s Department, as chairman of the New Zealand Intelligence Council.”