AUCKLAND — The United States has lifted a ban that prevented New Zealand naval ships from visiting U.S. ports or bases since the 1980s, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said Sept. 21, hailing a “new era” in relations between the two nations.
The policy change, part of efforts to bolster security ties, will “allow the U.S. Secretary of Defense to authorize individual visits to Department of Defense or Coast Guard facilities in the United States and around the world,” he said.
“I suspect that soon we’ll be able to see one of those ships in our ports,” he added when asked when New Zealand vessels would stop in the United States.
In a joint news conference with his New Zealand counterpart, Jonathan Coleman, the Pentagon chief also announced that restrictions on meetings between defense officials and military exercises also had been rescinded.
“These changes I think are important and are in the interests of both our nations,” he said.
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