Beijing: China on Tuesday angrily denounced the nuclear-powered submarine deal announced by the US, UK and Australia, saying the pact violates the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and the three countries are travelling “further down the dangerous and wrong path.”
The announcement was made at a summit meeting attended by US President Joe Biden, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and his British counterpart Rishi Sunak in San Diego on Monday.
Under the agreement, Australia will first receive at least three nuclear-powered submarines from the US.
The submarine deal was part of the security pact between the three countries called AUKUS (Australia, UK, US) formed in 2021 aimed at countering China’s aggressive behaviour in the strategic Indo-Pacific region which included its claim over most part of the disputed South China Sea.
China has been opposing the AUKUS alliance which helps Canberra to acquire the US nuclear submarines to boost its security in the face of increasing hostilities between the two countries. agencies
China says the bloc is aimed at containing its rise.
Announcing the deal, Biden said that with the support and approval of Congress, beginning in the early 2030s, the US will sell three Virginia-class submarines to Australia with the potential to sell up to two more if needed, jumpstarting their undersea capability to keep the Indo-Pacific region “free and open.”