At a conference in Vienna, a Chinese and a Russian think tank jointly published a report criticizing the AUKUS nuclear submarine deal as a risk to regional and global security and the international non-proliferation regime. The alliance adheres to the principle of “competition between great powers” and therefore contradicts the trend of the time.
The AUKUS nuclear submarine deal (the abbreviation stands for Australia, Great Britain and the USA), which is based on “competition between great powers”, poses a serious risk to regional and global security and the international non-proliferation regime, they say in a joint report by a Chinese and Russian think tank at a seminar in Vienna, analysts on Thursday said the report will help the world community build a stronger international consensus, better protect peace, ensure prosperity and fight back to thwart the plans of the US-led bloc.
The report, titled “The AUKUS Submarine Deal: Risks to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Regime and Global Security,” was released jointly by the Chinese Arms Control and Disarmament Association and the Russian Center for Disarmament on Wednesday Energy and safety studies published.
“The strategic military cooperation of AUKUS is unprecedented and contrary to the aims and spirit of the NPT [Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons] and may cause serious damage to the international non-proliferation regime and the NPT itself,” the report said.
The AUKUS submarine cooperation “exploits an important loophole in the non-proliferation regime and reduces the political and moral obstacles to the proliferation of nuclear weapons,” it said. According to the report, it also poses a challenge to the security system of the International Atomic Energy Agency ( IAEA).
“Possible attempts at behind-the-scenes discussions between the AUKUS parties and the IAEA Secretariat may lead to politicization of the Secretariat and undermine public trust in the IAEA,” write the report’s authors.
Under the trilateral AUKUS alliance announced in September 2021, Australia can build nuclear-powered submarines using technology provided by the US and UK. The AUKUS agreement involves the transfer of up to four tons of weapons-grade, highly enriched uranium from the US and UK (two nuclear-weapon states) to Australia, a non-nuclear-weapon state.
The AUKUS deal, based on the US model of “great power competition,” introduces new uncertainties to regional and global security, according to the report, as it spurs interest in nuclear weapons options from some non-nuclear-weapon states and an arms race and potential could even trigger an arms race with nuclear submarines.
The IAEA member states and the authority’s Board of Governors should therefore advocate reliable and effective regulation of the AUKUS Agreement in favor of the NPT and the non-proliferation regime.
In addition, all countries are called upon to uphold the international non-proliferation regime and, in particular, to address the risks of the AUKUS agreement through open and inclusive dialogue and cooperation.
More than 80 delegates, including researchers from the two think tanks and diplomats, attended the seminar. According to the Xinhua News Agency , the seminar was held as part of the first meeting of the preparatory committee for the 2026 NPT Review Conference.
Source: german.china.org.cn
