Saturday, October 28, 1995 CANBERRA, Oct 28 (Reuter) -- Australian Prime Minister Paul Keating strongly criticised on Saturday France's third nuclear test in the South Pacific and said France's international reputation would be seriously damaged. "France continues to seriously damage its international reputation by its actions in the face of world opinion," Keating said in a statement. France set off the third in a series of nuclear tests in the South Pacific at Mururoa atoll at 2200 GMT on Friday. The strength of the blast was described as under 60 kilotonnes, or 60,000 tonnes of TNT. Keating said the test flew in the face of the French government's recent announcement that it would sign the Protocols of the South Pacific Nuclear Free Zone (SPNFZ) Treaty. "It further brings into question the sincerity of France's commitment to the security of the region and its environment," Keating said. "The French government should draw the logical conclusion from its intention to sign the SPNFZ Protocols and end its tests now," he said. An army spokesman in Paris said there were a further three blasts to go before the end of the controversial testing. Australia has been at the forefront of world opposition to the programme, pushing an anti-nuclear resolution in the United Nations, lodging a string of diplomatic protests with Paris and barring France from bidding for a lucrative defence contract. Keating said on Saturday Australia would continue to pursue the campaign until France stops testing. "Continued testing has triggered powerful reactions around the world that reinforce the view that security based on nuclear weapons is unsustainable in the longer term," he said. The U.N. General Assembly was scheduled in coming weeks to consider a resolution calling for an immediate end to all nuclear testing, Keating said. "France must acknowledge the force of this resolution and the fact that it represents world opinion," he said. "To continue testing would be an affront to the wishes of the international community as well as the South Pacific."