Flotillas of small boats harassing the warships

After World War II, the United States, France and Britain frequently tested nuclear weapons in the Pacific. In 1959, groups opposed to nuclear weapons, particularly the testing and use of atomic bombs, formed the New Zealand Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND).

In the mid-1960s, France began testing nuclear weapons in French Polynesia, focused on Mururoa Atoll. Greenpeace vessels sailed into the test site in 1972. In 1973, the Labour Government sent two navy frigates, with a Cabinet minister on board. France moved testing underground, but anti-nuclear protest continued.

During the 1970s, nuclear-powered US warships frequently visited New Zealand. Many people suspected they might carry nuclear weapons, but American policy was to ‘neither confirm nor deny’. The visits provoked protests, with flotillas of small boats harassing the warships in New Zealand harbours: USS Truxtun and USS Long Beach (1976), USS Pintado (1978), USS Haddo (1979).

In 1985, the US declined to confirm or deny that the USS Buchanan was carrying nuclear weapons. The Lange Government refused it entry. The US severed military ties with New Zealand, downgraded diplomatic exchanges and withdrew its security guarantee.