Question: The leaders of the United States, the UK and Australia issued a statement in recent days, reiterating  “commitment to an international system that respects human rights, the rule of law, and the peaceful resolution of disputes free from coercion”, and agreeing to cooperate on the research and development of hypersonic weapons under the framework of AUKUS. What is the comment of the Chinese side?

Embassy Spokesperson: In recent days, the United States, the UK and Australia have used the Ukraine crisis as an excuse to declare that the US and the UK will provide nuclear-powered submarines to Australia and the three countries will cooperate on developing advanced military technologies such as hypersonic weapons. This further reveals the deep-seated Cold-War mindset of the three countries, and their malicious intention to instigate bloc confrontation and create conflict and division. It once again proves that this coterie will deal a severe blow to the international non-proliferation system, intensify the arms race and undermine the peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific. China strongly opposes this. All Asia-Pacific countries should stay on high alert.

The “international system” the three countries cited in their statement is only an excuse for them to engage in military buildup and instigate confrontation. It must be pointed out that there is only one international system in the world, that is, the one with the United Nations at the core; and there is only one set of norms, that is, the basic norms governing international relations based on the UN Charter. The US, the UK and Australia are in no position to define international system unilaterally, still less impose their criteria on others.

China remains unwavering in its determination to safeguard its sovereignty, security and development interests. We urge the US, the UK and Australia to respect the facts, grasp the major trend, abandon the Cold-War mentality, and stop going further down the wrong path of undermining regional peace, stability and cooperation.