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The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) announced on March 14 that it will inspect that there is no risk of atomic proliferation, after the agreement confirmed a day earlier between Australia, the United States and the United Kingdom to provide nuclear submarines to Canberra, under the agreement of AUKUS security, in the Indo-Pacific. The pronouncement comes shortly after China attacked the plan, which it says violates the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
Tensions rise between the West and China over the AUKUS deal.
After the strong disagreements of the Chinese government a day after the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia – members of the security alliance in the Indo-Pacific – ratified the supply of up to five nuclear-powered submarines to Canberra, the International Atomic Energy Agency ( IAEA) tries to downplay concerns.
The IAEA said it will monitor that there is no risk of nuclear spread under the pact of Western nations, which seeks to counter Beijing’s military might in the region.
The organization pointed out that Washington, London and Canberra must implement guarantees in this regard and that they are committed to the non-global atomic expansion.
“In their communications, the AUKUS parties reaffirmed their previously stated commitment that maintaining the integrity of the nuclear non-proliferation regime and the agency’s safeguards remain a central objective in relation to AUKUS,” the IAEA said in a statement.
Under the deal adding to Beijing’s fury, the US will sell Australia three Virginia-class nuclear-powered and conventionally-armed submarines during the 2030s, with the option for Australia to buy two more should the parties consider it necessary.
Then, Canberra would agree to a new model with US technology and British design, as part of the ambitious plan to increase Western influence in Asia-Pacific.
The agreement would make Australia in the seventh country with the capacity to operate a nuclear-powered submarine.
However, andhe IAEA director, Rafael Grossi, ratified this Tuesday that the body will examine in an “impartial, objective and technical” way that both the United States and the United Kingdom, as nuclear powers, fulfill their obligations and that Australia also follow international guidelines.
The US president, Joe Biden, remarked after the confirmation of the pact that in In no case will these submersibles carry atomic weapons. “Australia is proud to be a nuclear-free country and is committed to remaining so,” she said.
China: AUKUS is on the “path of error and danger”
The pronouncement of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) came just after China described what was agreed under AUKUS as a “path of error and danger”.
According to Beijing, what was agreed in the tripartite alliance violates the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
“The latest joint statement by the US, UK and Australia demonstrates that the three countries, for the sake of their own geopolitical interests, completely ignore the concerns of the international communities and are walking further and further down the path of error and danger,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said.
Wang also accused the three Western governments of inciting an arms race, saying the security pact represents “a typical case of Cold War mentality.”
Russia, which increasingly shows its closeness to China, especially in the midst of the war against Ukraine, joined the pronouncement of the Xi Jinping Administration.
“The Anglo-Saxon world, with the creation of structures such as AUKUS and with the advance of NATO’s military infrastructures in Asia, is seriously betting on many years of confrontation,” said Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
Submarines for Australia are expected to be equipped with long-range cruise missiles, offering a powerful deterrent against China.
While Canberra has ruled out the deployment of atomic weapons, its plan for submersibles stealthier and more capable than conventional ships marks a significant new milestone for the Asian giant, which has built a sophisticated naval fleet and turned artificial islands into offshore bases in the Pacific.
With Reuters and AFP
