You took a ‘dangerous path’ with a nuclear submarine deal – POLITICO

The UK, US and Australia have “gone further down a wrong and dangerous path” with their nuclear submarine deal, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman said on Tuesday.

The deal “completely ignored the concerns of the international community,” Wang Wenbin said at a press briefing, according to CNN.

The deal “will spur an arms race, undermine the international nuclear non-proliferation system and undermine regional peace and stability,” he added.

On Monday, US President Joe Biden announced his intention to sell five nuclear-powered submarines to Australia, after meeting the British and Australian prime ministers at a naval base in San Diego, California.

The move is part of the broader “AUKUS” alliance, which aims to bolster the US, UK and Australian presence in the Indo-Pacific – primarily to counter China’s rise in the region.

When asked on Monday whether China would view the submarine deal as an act of aggression, Biden said “no”, according to Reuters.

Responding to remarks from China’s Foreign Ministry, a spokesman for British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said on Tuesday: “The AUKUS program is not about just one country.”