Nuclear Reactors 951 - Australia, The U.K. and the U.S. Announce Plans For Construction Of Nuclear Powered Submarines For Australia - Part 3 of 4 Parts

Part 3 of 4 Parts (Please read Parts 1 and 2 first)
     There were many international reactions to the recent Australian announcement of a trilateral deal called AUSUK with the U.S. and the U.K. for the construction of a fleet of nuclear submarines built with U.S. and U.K. technology. Some nations were neutral, others welcomed any action that would contribute to the peace and stability of southeast Asia and some nations were hostile to the formation of the new partnership.
      The three leaders of the nations in the AUSUK partnership stressed that Australia would not be deploying nuclear weapons but that the nuclear propulsion for the new submarines were intended to guard against threats. Prime Minster Morrison stated that Australia would meet all of its nuclear non-proliferation obligations. U.S. officials said that nuclear propulsion for Australian submarines would allow their navy to operate more quietly for longer periods and provide deterrence across the Indo-Pacific.
    Prime Minister Boris Johnson said that AUSUK was not intended to be adversarial. He claimed that the new treaty would help reduce the costs of the U.K.’s next generation of nuclear submarines. He told Parliament that “Now that we have created AUKUS we expect to accelerate the development of other advanced defense systems including in cyber, artificial intelligence, quantum computing and undersea capabilities.”
      U.S President Biden said, “We all recognize the imperative of ensuring peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific over the long term. We need to be able to address both the current strategic environment in the region, and how it may evolve because the future of each of our nations and indeed the world depends on a free and open Indo-Pacific enduring and flourishing in the decades ahead.”
      When U.S. President Joe Biden, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Australian Prime Minister announced the AUSUK, they did not name China. Senior Biden administration officials briefed reporters before the announcement that the AUSUK was not aimed at countering China.
      Today, China denounced the new alliance saying that such partnerships should not target third countries and warning of an intensified arms race in southeast Asia. China’s growing belligerence on the world stage has triggered concern among Western nations which accounts for the creation of the AUSUK. China is currently building new fields of missile launch sites that can handle hundreds of new ICBM. They appear to be preparing to invade Taiwan. They also recently threaten to massively bomb Japan with nuclear warheads if Japan lifted a finger to help Taiwan counter a Chinese invasion. China has also been very active in deploying military resources in the South China Sea.
      Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian stated that the three countries participating in AUSUK were “severely damaging regional peace and stability, intensifying an arms race, and damaging international nuclear non-proliferation efforts".
     Lijian said in a regular briefing in Beijing that “China always believes that any regional mechanism should conform to the trend of peace and development of the times and help enhance mutual trust and cooperation... It should not target any third party or undermine its interests.”
Please read Part 4 next