Rainbow Warrior Bombing 40th Anniversary: Advocates Warn of Expanding Nuclearism in the Pacific

As the world commemorates the 40th anniversary of the bombing of the Rainbow Warrior, anti-nuclear advocates are sounding the alarm about the growing influence of nuclearism in the Pacific region. The incident, which took place in 1985, remains a powerful symbol of resistance against nuclear testing and the broader struggle for peace and environmental justice.

The Rainbow Warrior, a Greenpeace ship, was bombed in Auckland Harbour by French agents on July 10, 1985. The attack resulted in the death of a crew member, photographer Fernando Pereira, and shook the global anti-nuclear movement. At the time, the ship was preparing to challenge French nuclear testing in French Polynesia's Moruroa atoll.

One of Aotearoa's leading anti-nuclear advocates, Hilda Halkyard-Harawira, recalls the event with a mix of sorrow and determination. She was on the Rainbow Warrior a day before the bombing, invited to welcome the ship into Tāmaki Makaurau. "They took us around and showed us, and I can remember thinking: 'Wow, these fellas have got automatic washing machines and dryers on their boat.'"

The next day, she heard about the bombing and was stunned. "It really was a statement about the impact that Greenpeace had on shaming France over the nuclear testing in the Pacific." The bombing thrust the region's Nuclear-Free and Independent movement into the global spotlight and turned public sentiment against nuclear regimes, particularly those of the United States and France.

Two years later, New Zealand passed the 1987 Nuclear-Free Zone, Disarmament and Arms Control Act, cementing its nuclear-free stance. However, the recent formation of the AUKUS security pact has reignited concerns about the region's nuclear-free future. AUKUS, formed in 2021, aims to provide Australia with nuclear-powered submarines, raising questions about its implications for New Zealand and the broader Pacific.

Pacific historian Marco de Jong from AUT's law school warns that AUKUS undermines the region's nuclear-free principles. "There's a question as to the extent in which the two pillars can be disentangled. And certainly we see AUKUS set a number of nuclear-proliferation precedents, the first by which Australia, a non-nuclear weapon state, is set to receive highly-enriched uranium."

The 1985 Treaty of Rarotonga established the South Pacific as a nuclear-free zone, signed by 13 Pacific nations, including Australia and New Zealand. De Jong and Greenpeace Aotearoa argue that New Zealand's interest in AUKUS goes against the spirit of the treaty, adding to a "new nuclearism" facing the region.

Greenpeace Aotearoa executive director Russel Norman says New Zealand's participation in AUKUS, even under pillar two, is incompatible with being nuclear-free. "At its heart are nuclear-propelled submarines with cruise missiles on board that can be nuclear-armed. For the New Zealand government to sign up to any part of that, I think, is certainly in breach with the spirit of nuclear-free New Zealand, if not a technical breach."

However, a spokesperson for Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters insists that AUKUS has nothing to do with nuclear weapons. "AUKUS pillar two is an advanced technology-sharing partnership. It is not an offensive defence agreement or treaty." They also highlighted two "pre-conditions" for New Zealand's participation in pillar two of AUKUS, including being invited and weighing the costs against national interests.

A dawn service was held by Greenpeace in Auckland on Thursday to commemorate the Rainbow Warrior bombing, reflecting the enduring legacy of the event and the ongoing fight against nuclearism in the Pacific.