World Notes New Zealand

When New Zealand Prime Minister David Lange announced last week that he would not be participating in the July Foreign Ministers' conference of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in Malaysia, he said that his action was not a diplomatic snub. Had Lange, who also holds the Foreign Affairs portfolio, chosen to attend, he might have met there with U.S. Secretary of State George Shultz to discuss U.S.-New Zealand differences. The relationship between the two longtime allies soured after Lange and his ruling Labor Party banned port calls by nuclear-powered or -armed U.S. Navy ships. In retaliation, the U.S. has discontinued military cooperation with New Zealand. Said Jim McLay, leader of the opposition National Party: "This loss of an opportunity for meeting with Shultz is a tragedy."

Lange has delayed submitting to Parliament legislation to formalize the port ruling. In a recent magazine article he conceded that he must accommodate the feelings of insecurity "awakened by the attenuation of the defense relationship with the U.S."