China’s state-run Xinhua news reported on August 3rd that the China Arms Control and Disarmament Association and the Russian Center for Energy and Security Studies jointly released a research report in Vienna, Austria, titled “The Risks of AUKUS Nuclear Submarine Cooperation on Nuclear Non-Proliferation Mechanisms and Global Security.” The report claims that AUKUS, a trilateral security pact between Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States, is intensifying the risk of nuclear proliferation. The report additionally says that AUKUS “poses a serious challenge to the international nuclear non-proliferation system and the safeguards of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), severely threatening regional peace and stability.”
The report says that AUKUS cooperation “undermines international norms and creates negative impacts on various non-proliferation mechanisms, nuclear safety, and security, leading to increased arms competition and global insecurity.”
Li Song, the Chinese representative to the United Nations and other international organizations in Vienna, said that AUKUS nuclear submarine cooperation should be handled through consultation and consensus among the member states of IAEA, the International Atomic Energy Agency. He said that China will continue to work towards promoting “open, inclusive, and sustainable” intergovernmental discussion processes at the IAEA.
Source: Xinhua, August 3, 2023
http://www.news.cn/world/2023-08/03/c_1129784778.htm