Responding to the trilateral security pact between the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia, Chinese Ambassador to Sri Lanka, Qi Zhenhong, has slammed the agreement claiming that it was “opening the Pandora’s Box of the arms race, and undermining peace and stability in the Pacific and Indian Ocean”.
The AUKUS arrangement has triggered considerable controversy as it would see Australia acquiring acquire at least eight nuclear-powered submarines with US and British technology instead of buying French-made vessels. France has criticised the move as “a stab in the back”.
In his statement, Zhenhong maintained that the construction of nuclear submarines violated the spirit of the non-proliferation treaty and threatened efforts by ASEAN countries to build a nuclear-weapon-free zone and for the Indian Ocean to be a “zone of peace”.
“Exporting nuclear submarines to Australia means that a large number of highly sensitive nuclear materials and technologies are transferred without the effective safeguard of IAEA, which will inevitably bring the risk of proliferation of nuclear technologies and nuclear materials” Zhenhong stated.
The Chinese Ambassador maintained that this may lead to a new round of regional arms race and would undermine peace in the region.
“Nuclear submarines frequently entering the Indian Ocean will escalate the nuclear arms race or some hegemonies ganging up in clique and forcing small and medium-sized countries to take sides, will inevitably bring huge security risks to Sri Lanka” he claimed.
Zhenhong further criticised what he described as a barefaced “double-standard” as neither Iran nor North Korea is permitted to obtain nuclear weapons, but a blind eye is turned to the development of the nuclear weapons in Israel and Australia.
Commenting on the particular risk to Sri Lanka the Chinese Ambassador stated:
“Sri Lanka is located at the centre of Indian Ocean. No matter, its nuclear submarines frequently entering the Indian Ocean, the nuclear arms race escalating, or some hegemonies ganging up in clique and forcing small and medium-sized countries to take sides, it will inevitably bring huge security risks to Sri Lanka”.
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