Beijing: AUKUS deal undermines regional security for ASEAN states and risks nuclear proliferation

China Daily: According to reports, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen said in a speech on June 5 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 because ASEAN is a nuclear weapon-free zone, and we oppose nuclear weapon proliferation.” He said the military alliance is the “starting point of a very dangerous arms race” and “if this situation continues, the world will face a bigger danger”. What’s your comment? Wang Wenbin: Prime Minister Hun Sen’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. According to estimates by international arms control experts, the weapons-grade nuclear materials the US and the UK plan to transfer to Australia would be sufficient to build as many as 64 to 80 nuclear weapons. If the three countries are set on advancing their nuclear submarine cooperation, it is bound to deal an irreversible heavy blow to the integrity, efficacy and authority of the international nuclear non-proliferation system and trigger similar behavior in other non-nuclear-weapon states, thus turning the region into an arena of arms race. Such practice of seeking one’s own security at the expense of other countries’ security and plunging other countries into “security anxiety” is extremely irresponsible and dangerous.  As ASEAN’s comprehensive strategic partner and friendly neighbor, China firmly supports ASEAN nations’ efforts to establish the Southeast Asia nuclear weapon-free zone. China is the first nuclear-weapon state to openly support the Treaty on the Southeast Asia Nuclear Weapon-Free Zone and have expressed readiness to sign the Protocol to the Treaty. We once again call on the US, the UK 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.  __________________ ShanghaiEye focuses on producing top-quality contents. Nobody knows SHANGHAI better than us. Please subscribe to us ☻☻☻ __________________ For more stories, please click ■ What’s up today in Shanghai, the most updated news of the city ■ Amazing Shanghai, exploring the unknown corners of the city, learning the people, food and stories behind them ■ What Chinese people’s lives are like during the post COVID-19 period ■ Views of foreign scholars on China and its affairs ■ Foreign faces in Shanghai, people living in this city sharing their true feelings ■ Mini-docs showing why China is the country it is today __________________ ☎Leave us messages if you have any suggestions or questions! Thank you!