Beijing’s comments on the trilateral nuclear-armed submarine pact come ahead of the possible signing of the deal next week
China has called the US-UK-Australia nuclear pact a “textbook case of nuclear proliferation,” urging the three partners to “act in the interest of regional peace and stability.”
“We urge the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia to abandon their cold war mentality and zero-sum game, fulfill their international obligations in good faith, and act in the interests of regional peace and stability,” Chinese Ambassador Li Song to the International Atomic Energy Agency said (IAEA).
He was speaking at an IAEA meeting on Thursday in Vienna on the transfer of nuclear materials under AUKUS and its safeguards in all aspects under the Non-Proliferation Treaty on Nuclear Weapons (NPT), according to a statement released by the Chinese mission to the IAEA.
According to Li, the AUKUS nuclear submarine cooperation “creates serious nuclear proliferation risks, has a negative impact on the international nuclear non-proliferation regime, provokes an arms race, and undermines peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific region.”
“It has been widely questioned and opposed by the region’s and international communities,” he said.
Beijing’s remarks at the IAEA’s Vienna office come as Washington, London, and Canberra are set to sign a trilateral nuclear-armed submarine treaty next week.
“The essence of the AUKUS nuclear submarine cooperation is the transfer of tons of weapon-grade highly enriched uranium from the United States and the United Kingdom, both nuclear-weapon states and NPT depository states, to Australia, their military ally and a non-nuclear-weapon state, for geopolitical and strategic security considerations,” the Chinese ambassador to the IAEA stated.
“Such an act is a textbook example of nuclear proliferation, violates the NPT’s object and purpose, and poses grave challenges to the existing IAEA safeguards system and the NPT regime, with numerous negative consequences for years to come,” Li said.
Brushing aside allegations
The Chinese ambassador dismissed the AUKUS partners’ claims that the “impact of AUKUS nuclear submarine cooperation on regional security, as well as its multiple effects relating to military capabilities, are beyond the IAEA mandate and should not be discussed within the Agency.”
“This is baseless,” Li said of the three partner countries’ argument.
“It must be reviewed in light of its negative impact on international and regional security, as well as the larger context of the NPT regime’s effectiveness,” he said.
According to Li, “the transfer of a large amount of weapon-grade HEU in the AUKUS nuclear submarine cooperation is unprecedented” in terms of IAEA safeguard mandates.
“Whether it is possible and how to conduct safeguards on such activities will not only jeopardize the integrity and effectiveness of the NPT but will also affect the interests of all IAEA member states,” he said.
“This is simply not an issue that can be settled through some regular safeguard arrangements between IAEA and the Member States or by way of existing practices.
“There are numerous reasons to engage all member states in seeking an appropriate solution through intergovernmental discussions,” said the Chinese ambassador.
“We call on the Member States of the IAEA to actively participate in the intergovernmental discussion process and contribute their wisdom and efforts to the maintenance of the global nuclear non-proliferation regime,” China said, urging AUKUS partners to “respond to the concerns of the international community.”
