UK - Antony Blinken's Top Deputy Dismisses Nuclear Arms Race Fears Amid Pact With Australia UK | Benzinga
Antony Blinken‘s top deputy and the U.S. Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security has dismissed concerns that the AUKUS pact, a trilateral defense and security agreement, would incite a nuclear arms race in the Indo-Pacific region.
What Happened: Ambassador Bonnie Denise Jenkins refuted these claims on Tuesday, stating that the AUKUS pact, a security agreement between Australia, the U.K., and the U.S., aims to enhance stability in the region, CNBC reported on Monday.
"It's very important that countries understand that this is not to create a race — to create any kind of arms' races. Nuclear-powered submarines are allowed under the nuclear non-proliferation treaty and Australia is not going to become a nuclear weapons state," Jenkins Said,
The pact, established in 2021, was created to address concerns about China’s expanding military power and influence, including Australia’s acquisition of nuclear-powered attack submarines. Jenkins emphasized that nuclear-powered submarines are permitted under ...