Beijing:
China warned on Tuesday that Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States were walking a “path of error and danger” after they unveiled a nuclear-powered submarine deal.
“The recent joint statement of the United States, Great Britain and Australia shows that the three countries, for the sake of their geopolitical interests, completely disregard the concerns of the international community and are increasingly walking down the path of error and danger.” Spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Wang Wenbin said.
Australia announced on Monday it will buy up to five US nuclear submarines and then build a new model with US and British technology in an ambitious plan to flex Western muscle in the Asia-Pacific in the face of a rising China.
US President Joe Biden emphasized that Australia, which 18 months ago joined the newly created alliance with Washington and London, known as AUKUS, will not get nuclear weapons.
However, the acquisition of nuclear-powered submarines puts Australia in an elite club and at the forefront of US-led efforts to push back against Chinese military expansion.
Wang on Tuesday accused the three Western allies of inciting an arms race, saying the security deal was “a typical case of the Cold War”.
The sale of the submarines “poses a serious threat to the proliferation of nuclear weapons and violates the goals and objectives of the Non-Proliferation Treaty,” Wang said at a regular press conference.
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