WELLINGTON - FIJI and New Zealand expelled each other's top diplomats on Tuesday after New Zealand had banned the son of a senior Fijian official from continuing his studies at one of its universities.

New Zealand and Australia have banned any member of the Fiji military, government officials and their families, since the armed forces there toppled the elected government in a bloodless coup in December 2006.

The Fijian official's child had completed his first year of study at a Palmerstone North university, but was advised he could not return next year after his father took up a senior government position.

The Fiji government, led by coup chief Frank Bainimarama, responded by ordering New Zealand's acting high commissioner to leave in a week.

New Zealand said it would expel Fiji's top diplomat in Wellington.

'The New Zealand government obviously can't deal with these sorts of discussions with a gun pointed at its head,' New Zealand Foreign Minister Murray McCully told local radio.

Fiji was suspended from the Commonwealth after the 2006 coup and the United States and European Union have imposed sanctions on the South Pacific island nation until new elections are held. -- REUTERS