China slams US and Britain of ‘double standards’ with AUKUS submarine deal

At a major UN summit, a top China diplomat accused the US and Britain of “double standards” by helping Australia build nuclear-powered submarines in Adelaide.

China has accused the US and Britain of “double standards” by equipping Australia with a fleet of nuclear-powered submarines.

Senior Chinese diplomat Zhang Jun levelled scathing criticisms of the AUKUS security pact at the beginning of a month-long conference in New York that will review the UN’s Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

He accused the US and Britain of hypocrisy by helping Australia acquire nuclear-powered submarines, despite opposing Iran and North Korea’s nuclear aspirations.

“They hold very strong positions on the Iran nuclear issue, they hold a very strong position on the DPRK nuclear issue, but here in this AUKUS project, they say nothing is happening,” Mr Zhang said.

“That is purely double standards.”

China's permanent representative to the United Nations, Zhang Jun, accused the US and Britain of ‘double standards’.

Indonesia is spearheading criticisms of AUKUS, submitting a paper warning that sharing nuclear propulsion technology could have “catastrophic” consequences.

The Australian reports Indonesian officials are in the background lobbying a bloc of 120 mostly developing nations to cut a legal loophole in the current treaty that Australia is relying on to acquire nuclear-powered submarines.

Addressing the conference on Monday (local time), US Secretary of State Antony Blinken emphasised the submarines, to be built in Adelaide, would be “nuclear powered, not nuclear armed”.

“Other countries have this kind of submarine. And these will adhere to the highest safety and nonproliferation standards under the (treaty),” Secretary Blinken said.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told the conference Australia’s submarines would be nuclear powered, not nuclear armed, in attempts to ease concerns of some Asian nations. Picture: Kena Betancur / AFP

But Mr Zhang, who holds the UN’s Security Council presidency for the month, said explanations offered by AUKUS members were “not sufficient enough”.

He expressed concerns about the possibility of highly enriched uranium being transferred into weapons programs and the pact triggering an “arms race” in the region.

“I hope that the relative parties will stop their double standards and respond seriously to the concerns of the international community,” Mr Zhang said.

Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong said Australia’s “longstanding commitment to our non-proliferation treaty is internationally recognised”.

During a visit to Adelaide and Canberra last month, Rafael Grossi, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, said he was “satisfied” with Australia’s commitments to nuclear non-proliferation.

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Originally published as China slams US and Britain of ‘double standards’ with AUKUS submarine deal