RCHER
NUMBER 7 1985
THE ANZUS MARSAR AGREEMENT -Proof of secret commitments
New Zealand is involved in a secret ANZUS
Agreement which refutes the Government's claims
that ANZUS has no specific and defined commit­
ments expected of New Zealand, Australian and
American Governments. Called ANZUS MARSAR.
the agreement is concerned with the surveillance of
Ocean territory and commits all members of ANZUS
to active participation. It is the only military/defence
agreement known publicly to exist that actually
places itself by name in the ANZUS context.
ANZUS has been described by the Labour Govern­
ment as a loose frame-work for military cooperation.
However the discovery of ANZUS MARSAR indicates
that agreements exist that are specifically a part of
the ANZUS connection -- hut rhey exist behind the
scenes.
The ANZUS MARSAR Agreement, and others like
it, may place profound restrictions on the Govern­
ment's abHity to enact new policies of greater
military independence. It may also explain the
Government's continued readiness to resume military
exercises with the United States even though US
vessels would almost certainly be carrying nuclear
weapons and would not conform to the government's
non-nuclear-capable policies at home. This has been
always a situation that has appeared to be a con­
tradiction of the government's anti-nuclear policies
which have included a professed desire to work
within conventionally armed arrangements only.
Although the exact contents of ANZUS MARSAR
are being kept secret by the New Zealand Ministry of
Defence, it is known to be a combined ANZUS
operational arrangement for cooperation in maritime
surveillance involving all of the ANZUS partners
(hence its title ANZUS MARSAR).
The information has arrived from reliable Australian
sources and the New Zealand Ministry of Defence
confirms its existence although it refuses to release
details of the arrangement. A report on ANZUS
MARSAR has recently been received by the Office of
the Chief Ombudsman as a result of PEACE
RESEARCHER's request to the Ombudsman to
investigate the non-disclosure of details of the agree­
ment.
The Ministry of Defence has invoked Section 6 of
the Official Information Act to deny PEACE
INSIDE MINISTRY OPENS UP (A L ITTlE) ON RADFORD.COlllNS
DISQUIETING OUTCOME OF OMBUDSMAN'S INVESTIGATIONS
RESEARCHER information relating to rhe ANZUS
MARSAR Agreement. In doing so the Ministry has
stated that 'to provide any information (on ANZUS
MARSAR) . . . would be likely to prejudice the
security or defence of New Zealand, or the inter­
national relations of the Government of New Zealand,
and likely to prejudice the entrusting of information
to the Government of New Zealand on a basis of
confidence by our allies.'
The Ministry of Defence decision to not release
information on ANZUS MARSAR is currently under
investigation by rhe Chief Ombudsman. In a letter to
the Chief Ombudsman requesting such an investigation
PEACE RESEARCHER stated rhat it is concerned at
the level of secrecy surrounding such arrangements
and the absence of public scrutiny.
PEACE RESEARCHER stated that, while it is
aware of the sensitivity of som:e of our security
arrangements which necessitate secrecy, the public
at large is entitled to be aware of the existence of
such corrunitmen ts and their fundamental significance.
ANZUS MARSAR has never been mentioned in
any annual report of the Ministry of Defence, nor in
any Defence Review. Neither has there ever been any
discussion of ANZUS MARSAR in parliament.
PEACE RESEARCHER also told the Chief
Ombudsman that it was difficult to understand how
the release of information relating to the bare frame­
work of ANZUS MARSAR can pose a risk to New
Zealand's security or defence. On the contrary, lack
of information available to the New Zealand public
may contribute to those very dangers.
PEACE RESEARCHER is worried also at rhe
potential for the United States Government to make
use of secret agreements such as ANZUS MARSAR to
exert pressure on the New Zealand Government to
shift on its anti�nuclear policies. It could be expected
that the American Government, whose nuclear­
capable warships are currently forbidden here, would
call on such agreements as ANZUS MARSAR to be
met in full b y the New Zealand Government. For rhis
reason it is in the best interests of the New Zealand
public to be told of rhe terms of rhe ANZUS
MARSAR Agreement.
The majority of New Zealanders voted in a Govern­
ment commited to banning nuclear armaments from
:I
New Zealand. Opportunities for the American
Government to pressure New Zealand should not be
concealed from public view. New Zealanders may not
need to know the fine print of such agreements but
deserve to be informed of their broader meaning.
PEACE RESEARCHER has also requested, and
been denied, information from the Ministry of
Defence on the Combined Exercise Agreement
(COMBEXAG) - an agreement which governs all
exercises in which the ANZUS partners are assoc-
iated. This is another agreement which has
potentially wide repercussions and whose meaning is
being hidden from the public.
PEACE RESEARCHER has recently received a
letter from the Chief Ombudsman which indicates,
that after a two month wait, a report has arrived at
his office from the Ministry of Defence relating to
PEACE RESEARCHER's request for information on
ANZUS MARSAR and COMBEXAG.
- Keith Burgess

E::1:"7E A MiliTARY BASE - the ...,i,1'I""

ase,
"single official (to) speak and act for ClNCPACFLT"
Antarctic Research (USARP) is run by the
in the region.
US Navy for the civilian Science Foundation.
Called Operation Deep Freeze and located at Christ­ Defence Readiness at Deep Freeze
church International Airport, the involvement of the
Thus, although Deep Freeze is not officially
military there is long-standing. In typical bureaucrat
ackllowledged to be operating as a military base, it is
language an NSF official in Washington has stated,
nevertheless treated as such in official documents.
"To speak of 'demilitarizing Deep Freeze' IS a con­
And its command personnel are authorized to act in
tradiction in terms as is the attempt to distmgulsh
capacities identical to those of officials at acknow­
between "military' and 'civilian' aspects thereof." But
ledged military bases elsewhere. For example. another
is Deep Freeze operating as a military bas � in addition
document distributed to the Christchurch base. Naval
to its Antarctic support work? There IS abundant
Support Force Antarctica, went also to many oth �r
evidence that it is.
Pacific commands includjng North West Cape In
The money for Deep Freeze is supplied to the
Australia, and bases in Guam, Thailand, Japan, Diego
Navy under contract by the National Science Founda­
Garcia in the Indian Ocean, and California. This
tion (NSF). But while the NSF is in charge of the
document covered defense readiness (DEFCONS) and
civilian research the Navy and the Department of
other emergency cond�tions relevant to "safeguarding
Defense run everything else including much of the
ships, facilities, equipment and material vital to
civilian airport in rare situations. Just how does the
readiness and national defense ... a task of growing
Deep Freeze Naval command fit into the larger
concern. This responsibility is aggravated by activities
scheme of the American military? Some documents
of poHtical ex tremists and terrorist groups."
recently acquired by New Zealand peace researchers
The US base at Deep Freeze is deemed sufficiently
are very revealing. A 1984 instruction from the
important to the US military to be issued the follow­
Commander in Chief US PaCifiC Fleet (CINCPACFLT)
ing instructions in the above referenced document:
on ; Antarctic operations delegates authority ov?r
"Methods used by political extremist and terrorist
�'support of scientific and other programs In
groups make it difficult to gather comprehensive
Antarctica" to the Commanding officer of Deep
information on their activities and may preclude a,'
Freeze. This offIcer IS designated the senior US repres­
sound threat analysis. To ensure that the security
entative in Antarctica under the operating control of
posture remains adequate when a low or zero threat
the Commander of the Third Fleet. As local co­
analysis exists, immediate/local area coordinators (the
ordinator for New Zealand and direct representative
Commander a t Deep Freeze) will develop a postulated
of the Pacific Fleet, the. Deep Freeze Commander is threat based on economic and pnlitical atmosphere,
an integral part of the chain of command. He is the

potential enemy, criminal elements, political extremist '
or terrorist group actions ...
"
Among the "key facilities" listed as warrarHmg
.
special protection are military aircraft, flIght hnes,
fuel storage areas, antenna farms and communication
centres. All of these facilities are present at Deep
Freeze. Further "action" items to be incorporated
into security plans by base commanders included the
following: "Reaction forces should have flak vests,
steel helmets and properly sized gas masks readily
accessible. Shot guns with 00 Buckshot should be
included in the weapons mix for the Security/Guard
Force and the Reaction Force."
Military Aircraft Visits
The military aircraft that visit Deep Freeze in one
capacity or another are many and varied. They
include Galaxys, Starlifters, Hercules, Orions and
Boeing 707's, the latter three in various configura­
tions for specialized types of military missions. Not
included in this listing are the \i SF-owned Hercules
that are flown by Navy crews. Tables I and 2 con­
tain samplings of flight data for US military aircraft
obtained over several years from airport offices. The
recent, comprehensive data in Table 2 are cost�n�
researchers $40 per month as supplied by the CIvil
A via tion Division. All of the aircraft shown are US
Air Force CI4 1 Starlifters that were on shuttle, or
channel, flights between Aostralia and the United
States. None went to the ice. These regular flIghts,
averaging about 18 movements per month, continue
year-round. They are said to carry cargoes for
Antarctic support, especially in the summer season,
but they are primarily on military and embassy
business. The cargoes in transit through Christchurch
are secret. The aircraft themselves are soverejgn US
territory immune from New Zealand inspection of
any kind.
In Australia the Starlifters go to Pine Gap, North
West Cape and Norrongar. In serving these bases the
Military Airlift Command (MAC) planes are carrymg
secret cargoes to vital DOD and CIA installations. The
MAC is part of the Air Force and is not covered m
the long-standing Deep Freeze Agreement which
covers the Navy. In testimony submitted by a govern­
ment department to the NZ Parliamentary Select
Committee on Disarmament and Arms Control III
1984 we find this revelation about MAC: "In practice
it is difficult to make a clear distinction between
those aircraft entering NZ under blanket clearance
(a) - Deep Freeze support - and those arriving under
blanket clearonee (b) - carriage of high priority cargo
in support of United States installations." The group
(b) planes are in a wide-open category of NZ govern­
men t approval that gives c�,?pletelY free and
unquestioned access for US mllrtary arrcraft to NZ
territory.
. ' . international tension.' Although this agreement
The US military reacts almost wrth hurt; feeh�gs If
anyone suggests a sinister significance to Its nelth�r
confirm or deny policy regarding nuclear weapons III
Starlifters or Galaxys. But the policy stands firm for
aircraft and for warships. Peace Researcher has
documentation of the loading specifications for a
bewildering array of nuclear weapons in Starlifters,
Galaxy, and Hercules. Would the US have any
3
conceivable reason to bring nuclear weapons to or
through NZ territory? Yes. It isn't difficult to make
a reasonable case for the US wanting to deploy
nuclear depth charges in Australasia. New Zealand's
most important mission within the western alliance is
maritime surveillance and anti-submarine warfare over
a vast region of the South Pacific. This role undoubt­
edly continues despite the ANZUS controversy.
These subjects have, been covered in detail in Peace
Researcher No. 5 ' on the Radford-Collins Agree­
ment and in the pre,ent issue on ANZUS-MARSAR.
Other Types of Evidence
There is additional evidence for the military role
of the Deep Freeze base. Some of the topics listed
below will be the subject of reports in future issues
of this journal.
* The Naval Communications Section - In the
recent past this facility contained encrypting gear
and thus could be used for receiving and trans­
mitting encoded, classified military messages
totally unrelated to Antarctic research. Deep
Freeze and embassy personnel refuse to answer
questions about this capability.
The Antarctic station at Siple - This s",called
•
research station features a 2 l km long horizontal
antenna with appropriate receiver and transmitter
provided by the Navy for operation in the Very
Low Frequency (VU.) range. Peace Researcher
staff believe that the VLF facility run by the NSF
as part of the Deep Freeze program will be shown
to have military applications which are in violation
of the Antarctic Treaty.
* MX missile testing in the Tasman Sea - Researchers
have addressed five specific questions to the
Commander of Deep Freeze concerning the
possibility that Christchurch facilities might be
used in support of MX test-monitoring aircraft. We
have received no response.
* Aircraft accidents at Deep Freeze - On several
occasions in recent years US military aircraft have
been involved in emergencies at the airport. These
events have resulted in tight military security
enforced by US personnel covering extensive
areas of the airport and including the terminal
building.
• Military research projects - Strictly military
research, including Projects 'PRESS' and
'MAGNET', has been aided by the Deep Freeze
base through the accommodation of special aircraft
and crews. Some of this research applies directly
to nuclear missile guidance.
• 1982 ANZUS Memorandum on Logistic Support
- This agreement between the US and NZ
provides for 'refit and maintenance' of US
warships and aircraft in NZ 'during periods of
may technically be on hold because of the ANZUS
stalema te we can be sure that its provisions would
be used to the fullest if it were in the US interest
during a crisis. Both Deep Freeze and Lyttelton
Harbour could be involved according to former
Defence Minister Thomson. Deep Freeze is well­
equipped-for aircraft maintenance and refuelling.
continued
4 Tabl.1.

SUMMARY OF U.S. MILITARY FLIGHTS January 1981 through March 1984 at Christchurch
International Airport (New Zealand)

21
Year Flights in support of Other flights Total
1)
Antarctic NSF program

number (% of T) number (% of T)
3)
1981 36 ( 15) 207 (85) 243

1982 95 (43) 126 (57) 221

1983 91 (43) 121 (57) 212

(Jan-May 50 (50) 50 (50) 100

(June-Dec) 41 (37) 71 (63) 112

1984 Jan-March 47 (64) 27 (36) 74

4
TOTALS 269 (36) 481 (64) 750

Older data for

comparison
3)
1971 40 (8) 460 (92) 500

Footnotes
1. Predominantly C130 Hercules; C141 StarLifters also fly to Antarctica. and between the U.S. and Christchurch.
NSF "" U.S. National Science Foundation.
2. Predominantly C141 StarUfters; other aircraft were Orion, C135, C5A Galaxy.
3. Flights 'bound for the ice', [t is not known if the data for 1982·1984 (NSF support) are strictly flights to the ice
or more general categories of Deep Freeze support.
4. Average of 4.3 flights per week over period of 173 weeks.
Source: Airport Authority (Christchurch City Council)

Table 2.
United States military aircraft flights at Christchurch Airport, February and March, 1985. (Data from
Civil Aviation Division,MOT)

Date Aircraft D
I Origin! Departure!
Type Number Destination Arrival Time

February
1 C141 M38032 Honolulu 1334 Dep
3 C141 M60198 Pago Pago 1611 Arr
5 C141 M50264 Pago Pago 1520 Arr
5 C141 M60198 Richmond 1715Dep
6 C141 M50264 Richmond 0857Dep
10 C141 M60139 Pago Pago 1553 Arr
11 C141 M60139 Richmond 0900Dep
14 C141 M70164 Richmond 2022 Arr
15 C141 M70164 Honolulu 1259 Dep
17 C141 M60139 Pago Pago 1327 Arr
18 C141 M60139 Richmond 0907Dep
21 C141 M50232 Richmond 2010 Arr
22 C141 M50232 Pago Pago 1327Dep
24 C141 M60201 Pago Pago 1356 Arr
25 C141 M60201 Sydney 0804Dep

March
1 C141 M59399 Sydney 1818 Arr
2 C141 M59399 Pago Pago 1310Dep
3 C141 M60198 Pago Pago 1310 Arr
4 C141 M60198 Sydney 0805Dep
8 C141 M60165 Pago Pago 1326Dep
 Continued from page 3
'" US �overeignty on NZ Territory Several issues of
US immunity from NZ law exist because of the
involvement of the military at Deep Freeze. Issues
range from union rights for NZ employees at the
base to the authority of NZ officials to control the
importation of illegal agricultural and drug
products via military aircraft.
* Military exercises at Deep Freeze - the October
1984 ANZUS exercise called TRlAD-84 made use
of Christchurch Airport and Deep Freeze facilities
for a five-day period. The overt military use was
flatly denied by Deep Freeze at first but later
partially conceded. The evidence was described in
the November 1984 issue of Peace Researcher (no 6 J
•
The NZ Government has long refused to acknow-
ledge the kind of evidence outlined above. Deep
Freeze continues to operate as an important cog in
MINISTRY OPENS UP (A LITTLE) ON
RAOFORO-COLLINS AGREEMENT
As a result of an investigation by the Chief
Ombudsman into the Ministry of Defence refusal to
release details of the Radford-Collins Agreement in
1983 a brief description of the meaning of the
agree;"ent 'has been released to PEACE
RESEARCHER.
The Radford-Collins Agreement was originally
signed by the United States and Australia in 1951
and provided for an agreed division of responsibilities
for the surveillance and tracking of the Soviet Fleet
and a portion of the Pacific was sub-allocated to New
Zealand.
Under the agreement New Zealand is expected to
maintain the necessary deployments and patrols to
search this area and to secure New Zealand's key air
and naval support facilities and their approaches
against the contingency of United States or allied use.
PEACE RESEARCHER in its Number 5 issue
revealed its findings on the significant agreement.
Sources included the Strategic Basis Papers (Austral­
ian), and information supplied to PEACE
RESEARCHER by the Australian Department of
Defence. The New Zealand Ministry of Defence
release amounts to a word for word reiteration of the
Australian 000 description conveyed in August '84
to PEACE RESEARCHER.
5
the US system of Pacific bases. For those who care to
consider the evidence, Deep Freeze is a clear indica­
tion that ANZUS is alive and well. Warship visits to
NZ ports are highly visible and important opportun­
ities for foreign power flag-waving but they are only a
minor part of the US militarisation of the South
Pacific. Maintaining a functioning airbase'in Christ­
church is of far greater importance and seems to be
not in the least threatened by the warship ban.
Sources
Statements in this article are documented in
unclassified materials provided under the US Freedom
of Information Act. the NZ Official Information Act,
and in corresp-ondence between Peace Researcher
staff and government officials in the US and NZ.
Complete citations will be provided on request.
- Bob Leonard
The Ministry of Defence statement goes, 'I under­
stand ... that you have received a description of the
Radford-Collins Agreement. I am able to state the
same.'
It continues. "The Radford-ColliRs Agreement
provides for the coordination of naval control ��d
protection of shipping in the Indian and Pacthc
Oceans. The parties to the Agreement are the naval
authorities in Australia, New Zealand, the United
States of America and the United Kingdom. The
Agreement requires consultation and mutual agree-
ment prior to any combined operations:- .
Some new information.
In the meantime two more references to Radford­
CoIlins have surfaced, In defence Minister's Frank
O'Flynn's Briefing Papers I %4. under paragraph 12
which deals with RNZN Exercises ben,ath the
general heading Exercises, it states 'Under a 1951
Allied Agreement New Zealand has responsibility.for
naval control of shipping (NCS), in the South West
Pacific including Fiji. Prior to Fiji's independence the
necessary reporting and coordination during annual
naval CQTltrol of shipping exercises was undertaken by
the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve, but this lapsed
after 1970 and since 1973 the USN have sent report­
ing officers to man the post during exercises.'
In our analysis of the Radord-Collins Agreement in
Issue 5 of PEACE RESEARCHER, New Zealand's
area of responsibility was described as an area adjac­
ent to Australia's - Le. from 170E to 160W, an area
centering on Fiji.
The 1984 Briefing Papers would appear to end orse
PEACE RESEARCHER's claims fully. Paragraph 13
of the Papers under the general heading Exercises
states, 'One of the first policy initiatives taken by
Defence following the publication of the Defence
Review was to fulfrll New Zealand's responsibilities
under the 1951 agreement by establishing a NCS post
in Suva for the 1984 exercise held early in April. At
our invitation two RFMF naval officers worked
closely with the RNZN NCS team throughout the
Commarid Post Exercise.' continued
 6 The exercise referred to would almost certainly be
Exercise Roll Call - a frequently repeated exercise
which, according to New Zealand Ministry of Defence
press rel••ses, is designed to 'test plans and proc�dures
for the control and protection of merchant shlPpmg
in the event of hostilities.' Exercise Roll Call IS
exercise nomenclature for Radford-Collins.
The second reference appears in an officIal
Hansard Report of a meeting of the Australian S�nate
Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs �nd Defen�e
in February 1984. At the meeting whlch was d.IS-
ss�in�g� d.:
_�c� � c.: �c:.:o�
� o:!: ra�t::
p::e:: io:: ::,,.:R
� �s�s,.:K:;.:.
Secrecy on MARSAR
The Ombudsman's office has upheld the decision
of the defence secretary Denis McLean to withhold
information on ANZUS MARSAR, one of New
Zealand's most secret defence arrangements wlthm
ANZUS and possibly an indicator of further
entanglements that exist behind the scenes. A 1982
Briefing Document prepared for the government
Select Committee on Disarmamen t and Arms Control
recently made available to PEACE RESEARCHE�
provides a descnptlOn of the agreement, smgll/lg l_
out as the only agreement directly assoclated wltbthe
ANZUS defence treaty. The document descnb.es
ANZUS MARSAR as 'a combined Australian, New
Zealand and United States operational arrangement
for co-operation in maritime surveillance'.
Significantly, the Document identiti�s ANZU�
MARSAR as an agreement that is closely . asso�lated
with the ANZUS defence treaty itself. It IS umque m
that it involves only the ANZUS partners.Other
agreements analysed in the document such as The
Technical Cooperation Programme and the Alf
Standardisation Coordinating CommIttee mvolve
most of the western nations. ANZUS MARSAR IS
the second agreement mentioned in the document
DISQUIETING OUTCOME OF OMBUDS­
MAN'S INVESTIGATING - BACKS
MINISTRY OF DEFENCE ON lWO
COUNTS
(1) Infonnation relating to the Government
Communications Security Bureau (GCSB)
The Chief Obmudsman, Mr Lester Castle, has
backed up a Ministry of Defence refusal to answer
PEACE RESEARCHER's questions about the
Government Communications Security Bureau which
runs the Tangimoana Signals Intelligence (SIGINT)
post. PEACE RESEARCHER had asked for an up­
date on the bureau's budget and staffing levels.
PEACE RESEARCHER had argued that there was no
legitimate reason why the i�formation should not be
made public because such fIgures had been dISclosed
by the Government in 1980. (see PEACE
RESEARCHER no 3 )
16 1980 the National Government's Minister of
Defence, Mr David Thompson, told Parliament the
bureau had 16 civilian staff, one service officer, about
five administrative staff and an estimated annual cost
of about $400,000. Th� bureau is listed as having the
functions of communications security. technical
security and communications research and analysis --"
a term acknowledged now by the Ministry to be
ant Secretary for International �olicy, states ...
there is a fonnal arrangement between the ANZUS
partners that was concluded, I recall, . back in 1977.
Under this arrangement what happens m effect lS that,
areas of the Pacific and Indian Oceans have been
designated as areas in which the Australian, United
. States or New Zealand forces respectively will have
primary responsibility for conducting mariti�e
surveillance operations and information about foreIgn
warship movements within those areas is passed to
the partners.'
.T
:. :s: :.:t-
=a:: �A _______________ �-=_ Keith Burgess
under the heading US/NZ Agreements, beneath
ANZUS itself and above the Antarctic Treaty. This is
an indication of its importance.
Another documen t, a report of an Australian
Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and Defence
(reference: Defence co-operation), dated Feb. 1984
says ANZUS MARSAR runs parallel with the
Radford-Collins Agreement suggesting that the two
agreements apply roughly to the same geographical
zones. The high· ranking nature of the agreement 15 an
indication of how important maritime surveillance is
to New Zealand's contribution to ANZUS.
If New Zealand is to re-examine its defence
priorities fully this must include an appraisal of our
present commitments under ANZUS. Agreements
such as ANZUS MARSAR and Radford-Collins mean
NZ must patrol vast areas of ocean that extend as far
as the equator. Is this an appropriate use of ?ur
limited resources? Certainly the secrecy surrounding
ANZUS MARSAR and other agreements is prevent­
ing a full debate on the issue.
- Keith Burgess
synonymous with signals intelligence.The GCSB is .
also responsible for the secret signals intelligence,
facility at Tangimoana making it the counterpart of
such foreign intelligence agencies as America's
National Security Agency.
PEACE RESEARCHER cannot understand how
information freely released about the bureau in 1980
can demand such secrecy now.Not unless the bureau
has dramatically changed or expanded since that date.
The Ministry of Defence had originally refused
PEACE RESEARCHER's request for information
citing Section 6 of the Official Information Act, that
it 'would be likely to prejudice the security or
defence of New Zealand.' In a letter to PEACE
RESEARCHER the Chief Ombudsman, Mr Castle,
has said the information can be properly withheld on
those' grounds. "Obviously I cannot discuss .in detail
the grounds for my conclusion without disclosing the
information you seek," he told PEACE RE­
SEARCHER.
(2) Information relating to the secret UKUSA Signals
Intelligence Agreement
The Obmudsman, has after more than a year's
inv?stigation decided the signals intelligence agree�
ment binding New Zealand, Australia, the United

States and other western nations justifiably can
remain secret. Mr Lester Castle has told PEACE
RESEARCHER that he is satisfied a decision by the
Ministry of Defence neither to confirm nor deny the
existence or non-existence of the UKUSA Agreement
was a proper discharge of its obligations under the
Official Information Act. PEACE RESEARCHER
believes that this is the first time a government
department has resorted to Section 10 of the Official
Information Act to prevent the release of information.
PEACE RESEARCHER is disquieted at the out­
come of the Ombudsman investigation. While not
wishing to critisize harshly the decisions of an office
set up in the first place to ensure that official inform­
ation, wherever possible, be made available to the
public, PEACE RESEARCHER is concerned that the
Ministry of Defence particularly in the area of signals
intelligence is receiving spedal treatment.
Meanwhile PEACE RESEARCHER has written to
the Secretary of Defence drawing his attention to
information released recently about the UKUSA
WHO IS ADMIRAL
llOYD VASEY?
PEACE RESEARCHER keeps an eye on some
'interesting connections' and asks WHO IS ADMIRAL
LLOYD VASEY?
Compiled by a sub-committee of the NZNFZ
In November last year retired D.S. Admiral LLoyd
"loe" Vasey accompanied by Professor Henry
Albinski of the University of Pennsylvania paid a visit
to NZ. which was obviously intended to influence
what they called "elite opinion". They were travelling
under the auspices of a political research organisation
called the Pacific Forum which is based in Honolulu,
Hawaii, and which was established by Admiral Vasey
in 1975. Professor Albinski was also named as a
member of a so-called ANZUS "think-tank" which
was to be headed by CIA Deputy Director Ray Cline
(I). Bad publicity seems to have closed the lid on this
particular think-tank - for the meantime anyway -
but the Pacific Forum is likely to openly and actively
continue its efforts at shaping NZ opinion.
While in NZ Admiral Vasey vigorously promoted
the Soviet Threat (2). The findings of a report on NZ
by Vasey and Albinski were described in The NZ
Times (3).
According to arflcles published in The National
Time, of Australia (4) Admiral Vasey was the Head
of US Naval Intelligence in the facific during the time
of the Whitlam Labour Government. US Naval Intell­
igence was the umbrella organisation that contained
the infamous Task Force 157 which evidently
successfully destabilised the Australian Labour
Government of Gough Whitlam leading to its sacking
in 1975. The Pentagon abolished Task Force 157 in
1977 (5) but it is known that American naval intelli­
gence work, e.g. monitoring the Soviet fishing fleet, is
still carried out under deep cover_in Australasia.
7
Agreement by his own Minister, Mr Frank O'Flynn,
and by the Prime Minister himself, and asking him in
the light of sueh disclosures to reconsider his 1983
decision to refuse to release information.
In a speech made to the Press Association in
Christchurch in January 1985 Defence Minister, Mr
Frank O'Flynn, confirmed the existence of the
hitherto secret agreement - making specific reference
to the 1947 communications agreement linking the
United States, Britain, Canada, New Zealand and
Australia.
And in an article appearing in the April 13 th issue
of the Listener Prime Minister David Lange refers to
the agreemen t as one of many 'defence and security
arrangements' that exist outside of the ANZUS
Treaty.
PEACE RESEARCHER is hoping that the
Ministry of Defence will soon be catching up with
government spokespeople on defence and will be
acknowledging more than just the existence of the
significant agreement.
. Ker.th Rurgess
The clear implication of the claims concerning
Vasey is that he must have had oversight for the
operation against Whitlam, being responsible to the
ultimate controller of the special Task Force, Henry
Kissinger, also named as another member of Cline's
think-tank (6).
Vasey himself has commented in a letter dated
Feb. 15, 1985, sent to the NZ Times (copy sent to
NZNFZC with accompanying letter dated Feb. 22,
1985) on this claim as well as a number of other
allegations. He denies strongly that he has ever
"served in naval intelligence or any other intelligence
organisation". Vasey claims he "was retired from
the US Navy throughout that period and was working
with Pepperdine University". He says that he had
never even heard of Task Force 157 until newspaper
reports linked his name with it.
Admiral Vasey also claims that he never held any
position wi th the Nugan Hand Bank, the most
important of the CIA fronts in Australia during the _
time of the Whitlam Government. "During the course
of the Nugan Hand inquiry many links were found
between individuals connected with the group and
individuals connected in very significant ways with
US intelligence organisations, specifically the CIA and
the Office of Naval Intelligence (Task Force 157) (7)."
An extraordinary network of leading American active
and retired military and intelligence personnel was
uncovered. Australian investigations have however
been frustrated by the failure of the CIA and other
American agencies to respond to requests for more
detailed information.
In the original allegations concerning Admiral
Vasey's alleged role in the Whitlam coup, he was
named as holding an official position with Nugan
Hand - head of the Hawaii Branch (8). A joint task
force report on drug trafficking which investigated
Nugan Hand was more circumspect about Vasey:
"Very little is known of this man at this stage, or his
role, if any, in Nugan Hand. However, he is referred
to not infrequently by various people associated with
Nugan Hand and appears to have had some unofficial
 8
role with the group companies" (9). The report goes
on to mention that Vasey has been known to Rear
Admiral Yates and Maurice "Bernie" Houghton for
years. Both Yates and Houghton were key figures in
the Nugan Hand scandal. According to the former
British Secret Intelligence Service (SIS) agent, Peter
Wilcox, Houghton worked for an Intelligence group
under Admiral Lloyd Vasey operating out of Hawaii
(10). With regard to Hugan Hand Vasey himself says
that both Admiral Yates and General Black tried to
get him to invest in the bank but that he declined
(11).
Admiral Vasey's Pacific Forum has also been
linked, albeit indirectly, with CIA activity in the form
of another CIA front company. the Honolulu-based
Bishop, Baldwin, Rewald, Dillingham and Wong
which tried to set up a subsidiary front company in
NZ in 1983 (12). Sources associated with Bishop,
Baldwin claim the CIA planned to funnel money to
Pacific Forum through Bishop Baldwin (13). That the
CIA would want to support the Pacific Forum is
understandable due to its function as a promoter of a
right-wing opinion. Again, Vasey denies that the
Pacific Forum is a "right-wing think-tank" and seems
anxious to project an image of analytical objectivity.
This image is hard to sust.ain. The Pacific Forum is
viewed as a well�funded, conservative organisation.
Among the members of the Forum's Research
Council are two of the director�of the extremist
Committee on the Present Danger W. Glenn
Campbell, Director, Hoover Institution on War,
Revolution and Peace, Stanford University, and
Robert L. Pfaltzgraff, Jr., Professor, FIetcher School
of Law and Diplomacy. It is worth noting here that
the Ray Cline mentioned above is also on this
Comnultee's Board of Directors (J 4). Other members
of the Forum's Research Council include Denis
Warn�r, editor of the militarist "Pacific Defence
REF I 'I. ENCES
(I) NZ Times Nov. 18. 1984.
Ic I See (I).
(3) NZ Times. Jan 27. 1985.
(4) 11.0 National Times. Nov. 12-18, 1980, and
Mar. 1-7. 1%5.
(5) The Washington Post. May 18, 1977.
(6) See (I)
(7) Commonwealth-New South Wales Joint Task
Force on Drug Trafficking Report. Vo!. 2:
Nugan Hand, June 1982, P. 657.
(8) The National Times,Oct. 12-J8.1nO.
(9) See (7) P448.
(10) See (8).
PEACE RESEARCHER IS A SUPPLEMENT
TO THE N .Z. NUCLEAR FREE ZONE
COMMITTEE NEWSLETTER.
P.O. BOX \8-541 CHRISTCHURCH
NII!XY lSSIJE: THE NAPIER GEODETIC SATELLITE TERMINAL (1975-1978)
New Zealand's secret contribution
Reporter" and hard right propogandist; Dr Thomas
Millar, named as one of Cline's ANZUS "think-tank"
members (IS); and Dr Guy Pauker, named as a CIA
operative and Nugan Hand consultant (16). There is a
NZ representative on the Pacific Forum's Research
Council - Dr Stephen Levine of Victoria University.
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The Pacinc Forum hosted a Pacific Parliamentar�
ians' Meeting in Hawaii in early January 1985 which
was attended by the Leader of the National Party,
Jim McLay, and later in November this year Vasey
and Albinski will host a meeting on Australasian
security in Melbourne. A number of NZ academics
will no doubt attend and probably monetary and
other incentives, courtesy of the U.S., will be
offered to facilitate academic liaison as in the past
(17).
The big question then to ask about Admiral Vasey
is whether his interests really fit those of New
Zealand.
Il l) The Wall Street Journal, Aug. 25.1982.
Ii 2) National Business Review (Vol. 16. Nos. 8 &
9. Mar. 1985). For detailed investigation of
Bishop, Baldwin see 'Counterspy' June-Aug.
1984.
(13) The National Times, Mar. J5-21, 1985.
(14) 'Peddlers of Crisis: The Committee on the
Present Danger and the Politics of Containment'
by Jerry Sande". 19�.1.
(IS) See (I).
(16) See (7) P. 447; FlI1ancial Review. Sept. 26,
1980: The National Times Jan. 4-10. 198!.
117) NZ Times, Feb. 10, 1985 and The National
TImes, Mar. I 7, 1985.
to improved ICBM accuracy.