With the latest updates on Australia’s possible purchases of five US Virgina-class nuclear submarines revealed by Western media ahead of the AUKUS meeting in the US, Chinese watchers have urged Canberra not to not blindly follow Washington’s strategy to contain Beijing and risk its own country’s economic and security interests just to serve Washington’s interests.
Reuters reported on Wednesday that Australia is set to buy up to five US Virginia-class nuclear submarines in the 2030s as part of a landmark defense deal between Washington, Canberra and London, citing four US officials as saying that it was “under an agreement that presents a new challenge to China. »
According to the report.
Updates on the AUKUS pact have been revealed ahead of next Monday’s meeting to be hosted by US President Joe Biden and attended by Australian and UK leaders in San Diego to “chart the way forward for the supply of -nuclear-powered sailors and other -tech weapons in Australia,” Reuters noted.
The AUKUS pact seeks to target China, particularly on the Taiwan issue and the South China Sea issues.
Commenting on the updates, Mao Ning, spokesperson for China’s Foreign Ministry, said at a press conference on Thursday that China believes that trilateral cooperation (AUKUS) poses serious nuclear proliferation risks, has a impact on the international nuclear non-proliferation regime, stimulates the arms race. and undermines peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific region, which is widely questioned and fought against by countries in the region and the international community.
Chinese spokesperson urged the US, UK and Australia to abandon Cold War mentality and zero-sum game, faithfully fulfill their international obligations and do more to contribute to peace and regional stability.
Since the original AUKUS deal announced in 2021 under Australia’s then-Liberal Party Morrison administration, former Australian Prime Ministers Paul Keating and Malcolm Turnbull have argued that AUKUS would make Australia too dependent on the United States. United at a time when the nation should become more self-sufficient. dependent, according to the Sydney Morning Herald in February.
Keating, the Australian Labor legend, said in September 2021 that the partnership would lead to “a further dramatic loss of Australian sovereignty” and continued his criticism in October 2022, adding that it would be a “tragedy for Australia” if the party Labor continued with the agreement.
The United States is pushing Australia to the fore in the zero-sum game against China in a bid to serve its own interests, said Chen Hong, president of the China Association for Australian Studies and director of the Center for Australian Studies. Australians from East China Normal University. the China Direct on Thursday.
If the purchase of nuclear-powered submarines and other new developments of the AUKUS pact are officially announced after next Monday’s meeting, Australia would be taking a dangerous step on the road to possessing a nuclear attack, this which will pose a great threat to peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific region, Chen warned.
Since the US-led AUKUS is a military adventurer, Chen urged Australia not to be a pawn of the US, to invest a lot for US anti-China strategy, to get into a dangerous position, to risk his own national interests but in the end very likely to gain nothing.
Recently improved ties between China and Australia have helped Australia recover its economy in the post-pandemic era. Trade between China and Australia stood at 259.7 billion yuan ($37.47 billion) in January and February, with both imports and exports registering double-digit year-on-year growth. other, according to data from China’s General Administration of Customs released on Tuesday.
Albanese has also repeatedly stressed the importance of relations with China, but the US anti-China strategy has always been a ticking time bomb for China-Australia relations, observers noted.
It is time for the Albanian administration to adopt its political wisdom and avoid being coerced by anti-China national forces, blindly follow the United States and confront China, Chen said.
Source : Chine Direct
