CANBERRA: The Australian Minister of External Affairs, Mr R.G. Casey, said today [July 13] that he expected the Pacific Pact initialled in Washington yesterday to be formally signed in the next few weeks. It would be submitted to the three Governments concerned — the United States, Australia and New Zealand for ratification.

“The treaty will in no way supplant or replace the general system of world security which the United Nations designed to establish, but will serve rather to supplement and reinforce it,” Mr Casey told the House of Representatives. ...

Mr Casey described Article 4 (on action to meet an attack on any of the parties) as the “heart” of the Pact. “As is the case of the North Atlantic Treaty, on which this Treaty is modelled, the precise action to be taken by each party is not specified,” he said. “Australia is not bound and the United States could not accept the obligation to make an immediate formal declaration of war, which is the prerogative of Congress. []But the intention is that an attack on one should be regarded as an attack on all and that all three will resist together.” — News agencies

Published in Dawn, July 14th, 2026