By Matthew Brockett

(Bloomberg) — The U.S. Navy will ship a ship to New Zealand later this yr, ending an deadlock over the nation’s anti-nuclear coverage relationship again to the Nineteen Eighties.

Visiting U.S. Vice President Joe Biden accepted an invite to ship a ship to the Royal New Zealand Navy’s seventy fifth anniversary in November, Prime Minister John Key mentioned in a press release Thursday. It would be the first time a U.S. warship has entered a New Zealand port for the reason that USS Texas in 1983.

New Zealand elected a Labour authorities in 1984 that campaigned on a platform of creating the nation nuclear-free, a coverage enshrined in regulation in 1987. Because the U.S. would neither affirm nor deny whether or not its ships have been nuclear powered or armed, New Zealand rejected a deliberate go to in 1985. A yr later, New Zealand was suspended from the so-called ANZUS alliance with Australia and the U.S.

Today, such details about U.S. Navy vessels is freely out there, and the U.S. is extra involved with rising its presence within the Pacific as China extends its affect within the area, mentioned Paul Buchanan, a safety analyst at thirty sixth Parallel Assessments.

U.S. Relents

“It’s the United States that’s relented on the issue and that’s a small triumph for New Zealand, but there are much bigger issues of trade and security,” Buchanan informed Radio New Zealand. The U.S. desires to cement its place within the South Pacific and “it would be absolutely ridiculous for it to continue to cut its nose to spite its face.”

The U.S. locations “incredible importance” on the Asia Pacific, Biden mentioned in a televised information convention in Auckland Thursday. “We are a Pacific nation. We are not going anywhere. We are here to stay.”

Buchanan mentioned the deliberate ship go to would “end of an era of acrimony” and will mark the beginning of a better navy relationship between the U.S. and New Zealand.

© 2016 Bloomberg L.P