International Sharp Review | Peeling off the Layers of "Nuclear Strategy" Institutions in the United States, Britain, and Australia | Member States | International
The unprecedented crossing of the threshold of the principles and practices of the Treaty on the Non Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons and a serious impact on the international nuclear non-proliferation system... At the June Board of Directors of the International Atomic Energy Agency held in recent days, the cooperation between the United States, Britain, and Australia on nuclear submarines faced resolute opposition from the participating parties. The Chinese representative made a special speech on this issue, calling on all parties to jointly promote the intergovernmental discussion process. Representatives from more than 20 countries, including Russia, Pakistan, Indonesia, and Brazil, have responded to China's position and issued a common call to uphold the international nuclear non-proliferation system and international rules.
This is the eighth consecutive time that the International Atomic Energy Agency has deliberated on this issue in the form of intergovernmental discussions under the promotion of China, once again thwarting the attempt by the United States, Britain, and Australia to coerce the Secretariat of the Agency to privately accept it. "For well-known geopolitical purposes," said the Chinese representative, expressing the deep intention of the US, UK, and Australia's strong push for nuclear submarine cooperation. Everyone has long seen clearly what this "Okus" small circle wants to do in the Asia Pacific. They are just using nuclear submarine cooperation as a pretext to build Australia into the forefront of advancing US geopolitical strategy, copying NATO's tactics of provoking regional conflicts and confrontations to the Asia Pacific region, in order to seek geopolitical self-interest.
From the meeting, it can be seen that the strong opposition to the cooperation on nuclear submarines among the three countries is due to their actions setting bad precedents in terms of legal principles, procedures, and rules, and the negative impact they bring is dangerous and enormous.
Legally speaking, the cooperation between the United States, Britain, and Australia on nuclear submarines violates the Treaty on the Non Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, the Statute of the International Atomic Energy Agency, and the South Pacific Nuclear Free Zone Treaty, making it a true "three violation" project. On the surface, the three countries claim to engage in nuclear submarine cooperation, but in essence, they are engaging in nuclear proliferation.
According to international arms control experts, the US and UK plan to transfer tons of weapon grade nuclear materials to Australia, with an abundance of over 90%, capable of manufacturing up to 64 to 80 nuclear weapons. Once implemented, this plan will inevitably seriously undermine the international nuclear non-proliferation system, impact the construction of a Southeast Asian nuclear free zone, and open the Pandora's Box. Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen warned on the 5th that the cooperation between the US, UK, and Australia on nuclear submarines is the beginning of a dangerous arms race. If this situation continues, the world will face greater danger. ASEAN firmly opposes the proliferation of nuclear weapons.
From a procedural perspective, as a contracting party to the Treaty on the Non Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, promoting nuclear cooperation requires recognition from the International Atomic Energy Agency. Faced with unanimous condemnation and opposition from the international community, the three countries are doing everything possible to manipulate procedures and forcefully whitewash cooperation with nuclear submarines.
In the past two years, from attempting to coerce the Secretariat to propose a safeguard plan for exempting the cooperation of nuclear submarines among the three countries, to using misleading reports with one-sided content issued by the Director General, and to seeking amendments to legalize cooperation on nuclear submarines in institutional resolutions, the United States, Britain, and Australia have attempted to give a green light to cooperation on nuclear submarines through a series of covert operations, but without exception, they have been given a red light. This fully shows that the cooperation between the three countries on nuclear submarines is not something they can deal with privately, and it must be the final say by the member states of the Agency.
From a regulatory perspective, when discussing the issue of trilateral nuclear submarine cooperation within the International Atomic Energy Agency, it is necessary to adhere to true multilateralism and adhere to the principle of consensus through consultation. The United States, Britain, and Australia are shouting for a "rule-based international order" while coercing member states to take sides and engage in camp confrontation and "circle politics". This double standard approach has become an empirical example of the United States, Britain, and Australia challenging and breaking international rules.
The Asia Pacific region is a hotbed of cooperation and development, not a chessboard for major powers to compete on; Nuclear safety concerns the future and destiny of humanity, and is not a political tool for some people to pursue self-interest. The nuclear conspiracy of the United States, Britain, and Australia has a malicious nature, impure motives, and enormous harm. It is not a private matter of the three countries and must be jointly managed by the member states of the International Atomic Energy Agency. If anyone wants to turn the Pacific into a stormy ocean, the people of the Asia Pacific region will never agree.
