AUKUS nuclear propulsion agreement severely undermines non-proliferation: defense ministry

BEIJING, Aug. 29 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese defense spokesperson on Thursday said that the establishment of the AUKUS security partnership and the signing of a cooperation agreement on nuclear propulsion by the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia have severely undermined the international nuclear non-proliferation system.

These actions have given the green light to the transfer of nuclear-powered submarine reactors and a significant amount of weapons-grade highly enriched uranium from nuclear-weapon states to non-nuclear-weapon states, Wu Qian, a spokesperson for the Ministry of National Defense, told a press conference.

These actions incite a global nuclear arms race, posing a serious threat to regional peace and stability, according to Wu.

"We urge relevant parties to earnestly listen to the insightful and visionary voices from the international community, abandon their obsession with the Cold War and zero-sum mentality, and refrain from going further down the wrong and dangerous path," Wu said.