Australia
The Australia, New Zealand, United States (ANZUS) security treaty of 1951 bound the signatories to recognize that an armed attack in the Pacific area against any of them would endanger the peace and safety of the others. It committed them to consult in the event of a threat and, in the event of attack, to meet the common danger in accordance with their respective constitutional processes. The three nations also pledged to maintain and develop individual and collective capabilities to resist attack.
In 1985, the nature of the ANZUS alliance changed after the government of New Zealand refused access to its ports by nuclear-armed and nuclear-powered warships of the U.S. Navy. After extensive efforts to resolve the issue proved unsuccessful, the United States suspended its ANZUS security obligations to New Zealand in August 1986.
The U.S.-Australia alliance under the ANZUS treaty remains in full force. Defense ministers of one or both nations often have joined the annual ministerial meetings, which are supplemented by consultations between the U.S. Commander in Chief Pacific and the Australian Chief of Defense Force. There also are regular civilian and military consultations between the two governments at lower levels. The United States would welcome New Zealand's reassessment of its legislation to permit that country's return to full ANZUS cooperation.
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