"AUSP" will open "Pandora's Box"

Source: People's Daily - People's Daily

Recently, the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia announced the establishment of the so-called "Trilateral Security Partnership", in which the United States and the United Kingdom will help Australia build at least 8 nuclear-powered submarines. As soon as the news came out, the whole world was in an uproar. In response to external doubts, the United States, Britain and Australia argued that the nuclear submarine program does not violate the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, and the three countries will continue to play "leadership" in the field of nuclear non-proliferation. Australia also said it would acquire nuclear submarine capabilities "responsibly.") However, is this really the case?

The Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, which entered into force in 1970, is recognized by the international community as the cornerstone of the nuclear non-proliferation regime. Article III, paragraph II, of the Treaty provides that States parties may provide fissile material to non-nuclear-weapon States for peaceful purposes only under International Atomic Energy Agency safeguards. Due to historical limitations, the Treaty is not perfect, there is no clear provision on the transfer of nuclear submarine power reactors, and the IAEA safeguards system is unable to verify whether nuclear material in power reactors has been diverted to the development of nuclear weapons. It was precisely because of this ambiguity that the three countries started the "nuclear business" with great fanfare.

As we all know, the US and British nuclear submarines use weapons-grade highly enriched uranium with a abundance of more than 90%. The export of nuclear-powered submarines from the United States and Britain to Australia means a large number of highly sensitive nuclear materials and technology transfers. In the absence of international atomic safeguards, who can guarantee that Australia will not divert these nuclear materials and technologies to the development of nuclear weapons? What is the ulterior motive of the United States and Britain, knowing that there is a great risk of nuclear proliferation, but still "pretending to be confused" and maliciously using treaty loopholes to make a fuss? For many years, the United States has suppressed and even sanctioned other countries engaged in highly enriched uranium activities in the world on the grounds of non-proliferation, but it has opened up on the issue of highly enriched uranium involving Australia. Australia has always prided itself on being an "excellent student" in nuclear non-proliferation, but in order to cater to the geostrategic strategy of the United States and Britain, it has engaged in dangerous business.

There is no doubt that the launch of this nuclear submarine project in the United States, Britain and Australia is tantamount to opening the "Pandora's Box" and is bound to trigger other countries to follow suit. Just think, if other countries follow the same practice and carry out the same cooperation in the future, how should the United States and Britain look at it? If other non-nuclear-weapon States develop highly enriched uranium and related sensitive technologies in order to acquire nuclear submarines, what will the international nuclear non-proliferation regime, represented by the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, face? Is this the result that the United States, Britain and Australia want to see? The United States, Britain, and Australia claim to exert "leadership" in the field of nuclear non-proliferation, but in fact they are exerting "destructive power" with practical actions!

Historically, it is not uncommon for the United States and Britain to wantonly play with international rules out of selfish interests. After the end of the Cold War, the United States and Britain launched the infamous Iraq War on the trumped-up charge of the Saddam regime's development of weapons of mass destruction. In recent years, under the banner of non-proliferation, the United States has wielded the stick of sanctions and made a big fuss about the peaceful use of nuclear energy programs of some countries. This time, in order to win over Australia and cobble together a small circle of "Anglo-Saxon" military cooperation with a very Cold War color, the United States did not hesitate to offer highly enriched uranium and sensitive technology, completely forgetting the rules and obligations of nuclear non-proliferation. This is a blatant double standard and an extremely irresponsible act.

For Australia, this move not only makes itself a pawn of a superpower, but also completely buries the "human design" that it has painstakingly managed for many years in the field of non-proliferation. Australia's nuclear submarine program is not only widely questioned by the international community, but also unpopular at home. Former politicians such as Turnbull and Keating have written questions about the legitimacy of the project, sharply criticizing the Coalition government for blindly following the United States and stressing that Australia's use of highly enriched uranium on submarines will set a bad precedent. Australia should not forget that Canada tried to buy nuclear submarines from Britain or France in the 1980s and was eventually forced to cancel the program amid strong skepticism at home and abroad. Australia should listen to the voice of reason and get lost.

The "Australian nuclear issue" has thoroughly exposed the hypocrisy of the "rules-based international order" advocated by the United States, Britain, and Australia, and completely exposed the extreme egoism and double standards of the three countries on the issue of nuclear non-proliferation. If the United States, Britain, and Australia truly want to become responsible countries, they should immediately stop the nuclear submarine program and discuss with the international community how to improve the international mechanism, plug the loopholes in nuclear proliferation, jointly safeguard the authority and effectiveness of the international nuclear non-proliferation system, and jointly safeguard global and regional peace, security and stability. Otherwise, any justification by the United States, Britain, and Australia will only become darker and darker, and its acts of undermining international mechanisms and violating international obligations will certainly be spurned by the world.

People's Daily ( 03 Oct 2021 edition)