Talks aim to disarm Jakarta nuclear submarine fears

Penny Wong and Richard Marles have sought to reassure their Indonesian counterparts that Australia’s planned nuclear submarines won’t encourage nuclear weapons proliferation.

From left, Defence Minister Richard Marles and Foreign Minister Penny Wong with Indonesian counterparts Retno Marsudi and Prabowo Subianto in Canberra on Thursday. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Gary Ramage

Foreign Minister Penny Wong and Defence Minister Richard Marles have sought to reassure their Indonesian counterparts that Australia’s planned nuclear submarines won’t encourage nuclear weapons proliferation, amid heightened concerns in Jakarta over the AUKUS pact.

Senator Wong and Mr Marles met in Canberra on Thursday with Indonesia’s Foreign Minister, Retno Marsudi, and Defence Minister Prabowo Subianto six months after Jakarta said transfer of nuclear propulsion technology to Australia could have “catastrophic” consequences.

In a carefully worded statement following the meeting, both sides “highlighted their ambition for a world without nuclear weapons”, and “commitment to strengthening the global nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament regime”.

“Australia and Indonesia were founding members of the International Atomic Energy Agency and remain steadfast supporters of its vital role and mandate in upholding the (Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty),” the statement said.

The statement, following the annual “2+2” talks, said the countries would strengthen defence and security engagement, and ­reiterated their commitment to strategic transparency.

The ministers also committed to strengthening co-operation on trade and investment, infrastructure development, and the “clean energy transition”.

Both sides called for an Indo-Pacific region “where countries can make their own sovereign choices and where international law is respected” – a veiled pushback against Chinese influence and economic coercion.

The ministers, who met amid newly approved Indonesian plans to develop a large South China Sea gas deposit, declared their shared commitment “to a rules-based maritime order” underpinned by international law.

They criticised China’s “continued militarisation of disputed features” in the waterway, and urged self-restraint by all parties.

The ministers also discussed the challenges posed by cybercrime and ransomware, and vowed to work together to combat the challenge of disinformation.

Mr Subianto will meet Mr Marles again on Friday for bilateral defence talks.

Indonesia has been a vocal critic of the AUKUS partnership, warning a UN review of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty that the pact could encourage nuclear weapons development.

In July, Jakarta said the highly enriched uranium to be used in the submarines’ reactors could be diverted to nuclear weapons programs or be used with conventional arms to create “new types of weapons of mass destruction”.

It said any move to share nuclear technology and ­materials could set a precedent, undermining efforts to prevent nuclear weapons proliferation.

Indonesia’s ambassador to Australia, Siswo Pramono, has also raised concerns about the sharing of advanced non-nuclear weapons technology.