Indonesia to take nuclear submarine concerns to IAEA

Indonesia will push for greater technical scrutiny of Australia’s procurement of nuclear-powered submarines under the AUKUS security pact.

Indonesian Defence Minister Prabowo Subianto.

Indonesia will push for greater technical scrutiny of Australia’s procurement of nuclear-powered submarines under the AUKUS security pact, which will be discussed for the first time at an International Atomic Energy Agency board meeting in Vienna this week.

The foreign ministry said on Monday it was sending delegates to represent Indonesia’s interest at the IAEA board of governors meeting to ensure it discussed issues of safety and transparency surrounding non-nuclear states Brazil and Australia’s intended procurement of nuclear-powered submarines.

The move follows the five-yearly nuclear non-proliferation treaty review conference last month at which Indonesia lobbied for support to close what it claims is a loophole in the NPT treaty allowing non-nuclear states to acquire nuclear-powered submarines.

The month-long conference ended without a joint declaration after Russia blocked wording expressing concern over the nuclear safety crisis caused by its occupation of the Zaporizhzhia power plant in Ukraine.

However, Thri Tharyat, the Indonesian foreign ministry’s director general for multilateral affairs, said Jakarta’s concerns over the submarines issue had been accepted as a “middle ground” between China’s demand that AUKUS be dissolved and the insistence of Australia, the UK and US that the pact was in accordance with international law. Jakarta has consistently expressed concerns over Australia’s ambition to secure nuclear-propelled submarines since the AUKUS pact was revealed.