Aussie PM Sneers At Chinese Reaction To Canberra's Nuke Subs

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Friday dismissed China's outraged response to a security alliance with the US and Britain that would see Canberra acquire nuclear-powered submarines.

Photo Insert: Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison

China was not mentioned directly in the joint announcement of the so-called AUKUS alliance, but US President Joe Biden referred to "rapidly evolving threats" and a need to strengthen security and military deterrence in the Indo-Pacific region, Deutsche Presse-Agentur (dpa) reported.

Morrison said the move was "in everybody's interests, including China's interests" to maintain a safe and stable region but added that Australia has a right to take decisions in its own interests and that China itself "has a very substantive program of nuclear submarine building” even as it maintains old diesel-powered subs," in comments to radio station 2GB.

Australian Defense Minister Peter Dutton told Sky News Australia the Chinese media comments about AUKUS were "embarrassing" and "make the case" about why such an alliance is necessary.

China's embassy in Australia said Friday the country should "abandon the outdated Cold War zero-sum mentality and narrow-minded geopolitical perception" and "stop sliding further down on the road of harming China-Australia relations" and was miffed at a US-Australian statement expressing concern for China's "expansive maritime claims in the South China Sea that are without legal basis" and calling for Beijing implement domestic legislation in line with the UN's UNCLOS treaty.

The joint ministerial statement came after US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of US Defense Lloyd Austin hosted their Australian counterparts for talks in Washington on Thursday.

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