Sri Lankan leader criticizes AUKUS deal

Sri Lankan leader criticizes AUKUS deal

A “strategic misstep” was how Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe described AUKUS an acronym for the trilateral security pact between Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

Speaking on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, the Sri Lankan president claimed that AUKUS is a military alliance moved against one country, no other than China.

The three-way strategic defense alliance between Australia, the UK, and the US seeks to provide nuclear-powered submarines for the Royal Australian Navy.

The deal also involves cooperation on advanced cyber mechanisms, artificial intelligence, quantum technologies, undersea capabilities, electronic warfare, and information sharing.

The Sri Lankan leader said that the SINO-US rivalry, which originated from the Western Pacific, has now spread to both the Indian Ocean and the South Pacific.

At the same time, the question remains on how the two dominant countries will divide their region of influence in Asia.

He added that Sri Lanka wants to refrain from participating in the growing tensions between Washington and Beijing and that his country would like to maintain good relations with both economic powerhouses.

Meanwhile, China has accused the UK and the US of attempting to transfer tons of weapons-grade highly enriched uranium to their military ally Australia, a non-nuclear-weapon state.

China previously warned that the Aukus allies are embarking on a ‘path of error and danger ’ in their nuclear submarines agreement, adding it could trigger an arms race while completely ignoring the concerns of the international community.

 

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