Beijing: The new trilateral AUKUS defence alliance between Australia, the United States and the United Kingdom on nuclear submarines may trigger a nuclear arms race in the contested Indo-Pacific, China’s Defense Ministry Spokesman Tan Kefei said on Thursday.
“As soon as Pandora’s box is opened, the strategic balance in the region will be destroyed, the security of countries in the region will be seriously threatened which may launch a new arms race,” the Defense Ministry’s statement on the WeChat social network quoted him as saying.
President Joe Biden and the leaders of Australia and the United Kingdom issued a joint statement earlier this month announcing that Australia will purchase nuclear-powered attack submarines from the U.S. to modernize its fleet amid growing concern about China’s influence in the Indo-Pacific.
However, China argued that the deal violates the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. It contends that the transfer of nuclear weapons materials from a nuclear-weapon state to a non-nuclear-weapon state is a “blatant” violation of the spirit of the pact.
Reacting to the statement, Australian officials argued they were working to acquire nuclear-powered, not nuclear-armed, submarines.
What is AUKUS?
The defence deal called AUKUS was agreed upon by Australia, UK and the US in September 2021. The first aspect of the pact is equipping Australia with submarines and this part of the agreement is called Pillar One. The US and UK will share plans for their submarines that will help Australia build its own eventually.
Russia and China have expressed concern over the plan to build nuclear submarines and urged AUKUS members to strictly adhere to their obligations on non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.
Source : First Post