1 November 2021 08:40 am Views - 191
Chinese ambassador Qi Zhenhong warned that the frequenting of nuclear submarines, escalation of the nuclear arms race, and some hegemonies ganging up in cliques and forcing small and medium-sized countries to take sides, would inevitably bring huge security risks to Sri Lanka as a country located in the region.
He said an American nuclear submarine crashed in the South China Sea recently and went unreported, a hit and run accident sending out a very real warning. “Although no nuclear leakage caused by this accident has been confirmed yet, its nature is very serious, and there are great hidden dangers in nuclear proliferation and nuclear safety, which will lead to a nuclear disaster if it is not done well. Sri Lanka is located at the center of the Indian Ocean. No matter it's nuclear submarines frequently entering the Indian Ocean, the nuclear arms race escalating, or some hegemonies ganging up in cliques and forcing small and medium-sized countries to take sides, it will inevitably bring huge security risks to Sri Lanka. Therefore, the international community, especially regional countries, should pay serious attention to and resolutely oppose this bad behaviour, which seriously undermines regional peace and stability, accelerates the arms race, and undermines international nuclear non-proliferation efforts. We should bring the hanging Sword of Damocles back into its sheath, and jointly safeguard international peace, security, and stability.
He said AUKUS- the trilateral pact among the United States, Britain, and Australia-, in a statement, said the establishment of AUKUS among the United States, Britain, and Australia- a trilateral security pact - is like holding up a "Sword of Damocles" over the heads of countries in the Pacific-Indian Ocean regional countries.
He said this pact had aroused widespread doubts and deep concerns from the international community, and great threat of nuclear proliferation, arms race, and more unstable regional and international security situation.
Firstly, the move is a serious violation of the spirit of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) which brings great risks of nuclear proliferation.
The NPT which entered into effect in 1970, is regarded as the cornerstone of the global nuclear non-proliferation regime by the international community. However, the Treaty lacks clear provisions regarding the transfer of nuclear reactors for submarines, and the safeguards system of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is unable to verify whether the relevant materials are used to develop nuclear weapons. The United States, Britain, and Australia had exploited these weaknesses. In addition, the American and British nuclear submarines use weapons-grade highly enriched uranium with an abundance of over 90%. Exporting nuclear submarines to Australia means that a large number of highly sensitive nuclear materials and technologies are transferred without the effective safeguard of IAEA, which will inevitably bring the risk of proliferation of nuclear technologies and nuclear materials.