China urges US, UK, Australia to shelve nuclear submarine cooperation

By Anadolu staff

ANKARA(AA) - China on Tuesday urged the US, UK, and Australia to shelve their nuclear submarine cooperation, terming the plan an "act of nuclear proliferation."

At a weekly briefing, China's Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Wang Wenbin called on the troika "to heed the concerns of the international community and stop acts of nuclear proliferation such as their nuclear submarine cooperation," state-run Xinhua News reported.

Referring to reported comments made by Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen on Monday that "the small-scale alliance relevant to nuclear-powered submarines among the US, Britain and Australia is becoming a concern for ASEAN and countries in the region, Wang opined that the Cambodian leader's remarks "speak to the concerns widely shared by regional countries, including the ASEAN nations."

"The AUKUS security partnership and related nuclear submarine cooperation creates nuclear proliferation risks, threatens the international nuclear non-proliferation system, undermines the South Pacific Nuclear Free Zone Treaty, and undercuts ASEAN countries' efforts to establish a Southeast Asia nuclear weapon-free zone," he maintained.

Citing "estimates" by unnamed international arms control experts, Wang said that the weapons-grade nuclear materials the US, and Britain plan to transfer to Australia would be sufficient to build as many as 64 to 80 nuclear weapons.

Wang said Beijing "firmly" supports ASEAN nations' efforts to establish the Southeast Asia nuclear weapon-free zone.

"We once again call on the United States, Britain and Australia to heed the concerns of the international community, stop acts of nuclear proliferation such as their nuclear submarine cooperation, stop undermining the international nuclear non-proliferation system by applying double standards, and stop brewing storms over the Pacific Ocean," he added.