| Australia, New Zealand, United States Security Treaty | |
|---|---|
.jpg){kind=logo} | |
| Type | Collective security agreement |
| Signed | 1 September 1951 |
| Location | San Francisco, United States |
| Effective | 29 April 1952 |
| Parties |
|
| Citations | [1952] ATS 2 (full text) |
The Australia, New Zealand, United States Security Treaty (ANZUS or ANZUS Treaty) is a 1951 collective security agreement initially formed between Australia, New Zealand, and the United States.[1] It requires the parties to maintain their "capacity to resist armed attack", consult with each other on security matters in the Pacific and declares that an armed attack on any of the parties "would be dangerous to [each signatories] peace and safety" and that each signatory "would act to meet the common danger in accordance with its constitutional processes".[2] It also provides for a council of the signatories foreign ministers, in which the implementation of the treaty can be discussed.
The treaty was one of a series that the United States formed in the 1949–1955 era as part of its collective response to the threat of communism during the Cold War.[3] New Zealand was suspended from ANZUS in 1986 as it initiated a nuclear-free zone in its territorial waters. In late 2012, the United States lifted a 26-year-old ban on visits by New Zealand warships to US Department of Defense and US Coast Guard bases around the world. New Zealand maintains a nuclear-free zone as part of its foreign policy and is partially suspended from ANZUS, as the United States maintains an ambiguous policy whether or not the warships carry nuclear weapons and operates numerous nuclear-powered aircraft carriers and submarines; however New Zealand resumed key areas of the ANZUS treaty in 2007.[4][5]
- ^ "ANZUS treaty comes into force". NZ History. New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage. 5 October 2021.
- ^ Australia; New Zealand; United States (1 September 1951). "Security Treaty between Australia, New Zealand and the United States of America". Australian Government Publishing Service – via AustLII.
- ^ Joseph Gabriel Starke, The ANZUS Treaty Alliance (Melbourne University Press, 1965)
- ^ Alexander, David (21 September 2012). "U.S. lifts ban on New Zealand warships, New Zealand keeps nuclear-free stance". Chicago Tribune.
- ^ Kristensen, Hans (23 September 2012). "In Warming US-NZ Relations, Outdated Nuclear Policy Remains Unnecessary Irritant". Federation of American Scientists.