AUKUS jeopardizes Asia-Pacific peace, says embassy

LONDON — Joint work by the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia on nuclear submarines creates nuclear proliferation risks and undermines the international nonproliferation system, the Chinese embassy in London has said.

In response to a question concerning the trilateral Australia-UK-US, or AUKUS, collaboration on nuclear submarines, the embassy said on Friday that such work will exacerbate the resurgence of a Cold War mentality, trigger a new arms race and further provoke regional security and military confrontation, seriously jeopardizing regional peace, stability and prosperity.

The Asia-Pacific is now the most dynamic and fastest growing region in the world, and this has not come easily, the embassy said in a media release.

"The AUKUS cooperation is designed to serve the US geopolitical agenda to introduce group politics and Cold War confrontation into the Asia-Pacific with military deterrence. It is aimed at creating a NATO-replica in the Asia-Pacific, which runs counter to peace and stability in the region."

The AUKUS nuclear submarine collaboration is the first instance of nuclear weapons states transferring naval nuclear propulsion reactors and weapons-grade highly enriched uranium to a non-nuclear weapon state, it said.

International Atomic Energy Agency safeguards are inadequate, and such collaboration poses serious nuclear proliferation risks, seriously compromises the agency's authority and deals a blow to its safeguards system, the embassy said.

"If the three countries are set on advancing the cooperation, other countries will likely follow suit, eventually leading to the collapse of the international nuclear nonproliferation regime."

China urges the three countries to heed the call of the international community and regional countries, discard a Cold War mentality and narrow geopolitical mindset, fulfill their international obligations and do more that is conducive to regional peace, stability, unity and development, the embassy said.

"This serves the fundamental and long-term interests of regional countries as well as the three countries themselves. The UK is not a country in the region, and it is unwise to overstretch itself."

Xinhua