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Treaty of Rarotonga

Coordinates: 21°13′42.8″S 159°46′35.5″W / 21.228556°S 159.776528°W / -21.228556; -159.776528
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21°13′42.8″S 159°46′35.5″W / 21.228556°S 159.776528°W / -21.228556; -159.776528

Treaty of Rarotonga
South Pacific Nuclear Free Zone Treaty
  Signed and ratified Treaty of Rarotonga
TypeNuclear disarmament
Signed6 August 1985
LocationRarotonga, Cook Islands
Effective11 December 1986
Parties13
     Nuclear-weapon-free zones      NW states      Nuclear sharing      NPT only

The Treaty of Rarotonga is the common name for the South Pacific Nuclear Free Zone Treaty, which formalises a nuclear-weapon-free zone in the South Pacific. The treaty bans the use, testing, and possession of nuclear weapons within the borders of the zone.[1][2]

It was signed by the South Pacific nations of Australia, the Cook Islands, Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, New Zealand, Niue, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu on the island of Rarotonga (where the capital of the Cook Islands is located) on 6 August 1985, came into force on 11 December 1986 with the 8th ratification, and has since been ratified by all of those states.

The Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, and Palau are not party to the treaties but are eligible to become parties should they decide to join the treaty in the future.

Protocols binding other states

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There are three protocols to the treaty, which have been signed by the five declared nuclear states, with the exception of Protocol 1 for China and Russia who have no territory in the Zone.

  1. no manufacture, stationing or testing in their territories within the Zone
  2. no use against the Parties to the Treaty, or against territories where Protocol 1 is in force
  3. no testing within the Zone

In 1996 France and the United Kingdom signed and ratified the three protocols. The United States signed them the same year but has not ratified them. China signed and ratified protocols 2 and 3 in 1987. Russia has also ratified protocols 2 and 3 with reservations.[3]

Scope of applicability

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High seas highlighted in blue.

The treaty's different provisions apply variously to the Zone, to the territories within the Zone, or globally.

"South Pacific Nuclear Free Zone" means the area :

plus three projections north of the Equator to include the territory and territorial waters of Papua New Guinea, Nauru, and Kiribati, but minus the northwest corner beyond Australian territorial waters and near Indonesia (and the Southeast Asian Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone).

Several islands in the Indian Ocean also belong to Australia and are therefore part of the zone.

"Territory" means internal waters, territorial sea and archipelagic waters, the seabed and subsoil beneath, the land territory and the airspace above them. It does not include international waters. Article 2 says "Nothing in this Treaty shall prejudice or in any way affect the rights, or the exercise of the rights, of any State under international law with regard to freedom of the seas."

The treaty is an agreement between nation-states and as such of course cannot apply to those who have not signed the treaty or protocols, for example, the four countries not signatories to the Non-Proliferation Treaty, who are all nuclear powers.

List of parties and territories

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State Signed Deposited
 Australia 6 Sep 1985 11 Dec 1986
 Cook Islands 6 Sep 1985 28 Oct 1985
 Fiji 6 Sep 1985 4 Oct 1985
 Kiribati 6 Sep 1985 28 Oct 1985
 Nauru 17 Jul 1986 13 May 1987
 New Zealand 6 Sep 1985 13 Nov 1986
 Niue 6 Sep 1985 12 May 1986
 Papua New Guinea 16 Sep 1985 15 Sep 1989
 Samoa 6 Sep 1985 20 Oct 1986
 Solomon Islands 29 May 1987 27 Jan 1989
 Tonga 2 Jul 1996 18 Dec 2000
 Tuvalu 6 Sep 1985 16 Jan 1986
 Vanuatu 16 Sep 1995 9 Feb 1996
Territory State
Ashmore and Cartier Islands  Australia
Christmas Island  Australia
Cocos (Keeling) Islands  Australia
Coral Sea Islands  Australia
Heard Island and McDonald Islands  Australia
Norfolk Island  Australia
French Polynesia  France
New Caledonia  France
Wallis and Futuna  France
Tokelau New Zealand
Pitcairn Islands United Kingdom

Carrying of nuclear weapons within the zone

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U.S. bomber aircraft have been visiting Australia since the early 1980s, and nuclear-capable B-52s and B-2s operate regularly out of northern Australia. When U.S. bombers visit Australia, the U.S. government does not tell the Australian government whether the aircraft are carrying nuclear weapons. In 2023, the Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong said the Australian Government "understand[s] and respect[s] the longstanding US policy of neither confirming or denying".[5] 

References

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  1. ^ "South Pacific Nuclear-Free Zone Treaty (Treaty of Rarotonga)" (PDF). Retrieved 26 December 2012.
  2. ^ "South Pacific Nuclear-Free Zone (SPNFZ) Treaty of Rarotonga | Treaties & Regimes | NTI". www.nti.org. Nuclear Threat Initiative | NTI. Retrieved 5 November 2016.
  3. ^ "Ratifications" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 March 2016.
  4. ^ "Disarmament Treaties Database: Treaty of Rarotonga". disarmament.un.org. UNODA – United Nations Office of Disarmament Affairs.
  5. ^ Greene, Andrew (15 February 2023). "Officials can neither 'confirm nor deny' US bombers in Australia carry nuclear weapons". ABC News. Retrieved 16 February 2023.
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