China warned on Tuesday that the United States, Australia and Britain remain on a “wrong and dangerous path” after Canberra announced it was buying US nuclear-powered submarines to modernize its fleet.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said the deal, dubbed AUKUS (an acronym for Australia, United Kingdom and United States), was the result of “a typical Cold War mentality” that “only motivates an arms race, undermines the international nuclear non-proliferation regime and undermine regional stability and peace.”
“The latest joint statement by the US, UK and Australia shows that the three countries are on the wrong and dangerous path for their own geopolitical interests, completely ignoring the concerns of the international community,” Wang Wang said at a press conference.
US President Joe Biden flew to San Diego, California to meet with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.
The three leaders welcomed the nuclear partnership, which will give Australia access to nuclear submarines that are more stealthy and more capable than conventionally powered ships.
The move is seen as a response to China’s growing military power in the Asia-Pacific region.
Biden stressed that the ships would not carry any nuclear weapons. Albanese said he didn’t think the deal could damage relations between Australia and China.
Wang reiterated China’s claims that AUKUS poses a “serious risk of nuclear proliferation” and “a violation of the object and purpose of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.”
“Three countries claim they will abide by the highest standards of nuclear non-proliferation, which is pure fraud,” Wang said, accusing the three of “coercing” the International Atomic Energy Agency into giving their consent.
Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles said on Tuesday that AUKUS is needed to counter the region’s largest conventional arms buildup since World War II. Australian officials said the deal would be worth up to $245 billion over the next three decades and create 20,000 jobs.
Marles said he had made huge diplomatic efforts in the months leading up to the deal’s announcement, including more than 60 phone calls to regional and world leaders. Australia offered to keep China informed, he said.
US Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Daniel J. Kritenbrink said the degree of transparency is one of the main features of the agreement.
“The AUKUS partners have made clear our intentions, including our commitment to peace and regional stability,” Kritenbrink said.
AUKUS is one of several US-led security agreements and partnerships that have drawn the ire of China, which often classifies the regional blocs from which it is excluded as relics of the Cold War.
Along with Russia, China also denounced Quad, a military alliance that includes Australia, India, Japan and the United States, whose foreign ministers said earlier this month that they intended to be an alternative to China. The ministers said they were concerned about “challenges to the maritime rules-based order, including in the South and East China Seas,” due to Beijing’s aggressive actions to assert its territorial claims.
China has also been appalled by a deal between Washington and the Philippines that gives US forces greater access to Philippine bases along the so-called “first chain of islands,” key to projecting Chinese power in the region.
Last week, Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang warned Washington of possible “conflicts and clashes” if the US did not change course.
Author: Portuguese
Source: CM Jornal
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