1 February 2001

Kia ora, for those of you following the BMD/NMD saga, we've just received the following excerpt from a Radio Australia broadcast ... given the US missiles raining down on Kwajalien for so many years, guess the Admiral felt it safer to keep quiet.

Radio Australia - 1 Feb 01

Pacific admiral questioned over missile defence shield America's top Pacific admiral has side-stepped concern over whether one of the unintended consequences of Washington's planned missile defence systems would be radioactive fall-out on Pacific nations.

The US Navy's Pacific Commander, Admiral Dennis Blair, was addressing the Pacific Leaders Conference in Hawaii on the strategic situation in the region.

Nauru's ambassador to the United Nations, Vince Clodumar, said his country was concerned the so-called National Missile Defence System would allow the US to shoot down incoming ballistic missiles as far from America as possible.

Mr Clodumar said the interception point in some cases could be over the north Pacific and it was certainly not in the best interests of the region.

He questioned whether the problem was among the reasons why the United States had not signed the protocols of the South Pacific Nuclear Free Zone treaty..

Admiral Blair declined to debate the issue. =XXX (15:12:32 AEST)

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