China urges U.S., Britain, Australia to reverse decisions on nuclear submarine cooperation

BEIJING, Aug. 25 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese defense spokesperson on Thursday urged the United States, Britain and Australia to fulfill their obligations concerning nuclear non-proliferation and revoke their decisions on nuclear submarine cooperation.

Nuclear submarine cooperation among these three countries poses severe nuclear proliferation risks, challenges the international framework for nuclear non-proliferation, escalates the arms race and undermines regional peace and stability, said Tan Kefei, spokesperson for the Ministry of National Defense, at a press conference.

The United States and Britain would openly violate the purposes and principles of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) if they transfer weapons-grade nuclear materials to non-nuclear-weapon states, Tan said.

Tan called on the international community to jointly defend the NPT-based international nuclear non-proliferation regime.