Editor TLN
March 14 () –
The Government of China has denounced that the plan signed by the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia to promote the manufacture of nuclear-powered submarines “constitutes a serious risk” in terms of proliferation, incites the arms “race” and harms “peace and stability in the region.
For Beijing, it is an “irony” that two nuclear powers such as the United Kingdom and the United States, which boast of meeting “the highest standards” in terms of non-proliferation, share “tons” of enriched uranium with a country, Australia, which does not have this kind of technology.
“They clearly violate the objective and purpose of the Non-Proliferation Treaty,” denounced the Chinese delegation to the UN, which has denounced “double standards.” For this reason, it has urged the three countries of the so-called AUKUS alliance to fulfill their “obligations” and answer for them before the international community.
Monday’s agreement is the first tangible pact of an alliance that initially upset France, which was left without a previous military contract with Australia, and which makes no secret of its desire to be a counterweight to China’s growing presence in the Indo-Pacific region.
Under the new commitments, Australia will purchase three submarines from the United States, with the possibility of purchasing another two if deemed necessary by the parties. The United Kingdom and Australia will host the manufacture of a new generation of nuclear-powered submarines with direct support from the United States.
