AUKUS threatens unity of ASEAN — Myanmar’s PM
Min Aung Hlaing expressed concern over Australia’s attempts to use AUKUS mechanisms to create a fleet of nuclear submarines
The military alliance of Australia, the UK and the US (AUKUS) threatens the unity of member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), Myanmar’s Commander-in-Chief and Prime Minister Min Aung Hlaing said on Tuesday.
“The Quad security dialogue and the three-party AUKUS defensive alliance reached a level of influence over the entire Asia-Pacific Region with a tendency of interfering in regional security issues. This activity may impact the union and harmony of ASEAN member countries,” he said in a video address at the 10th Moscow Conference on International Security.
The official also expressed concern over Australia’s attempts to use AUKUS mechanisms to create a fleet of nuclear submarines which, in his opinion, “may affect the preservation of a non-nuclear zone.”
In 2021, Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States announced the formation of a new security pact called AUKUS. Australia particularly intends to use American technologies to build at least eight nuclear-powered submarines, the first of which will become operational in 2036, as well as to equip its armed forces with US-made cruise missiles.
The move broke an earlier defense deal inked with France, the biggest in Australia’s history. Paris slammed Canberra’s decision as “a stab in the back” and recalled its ambassadors from the US and Australia for consultations.
