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Uneasy About Australia’s New Submarine Deal with the U.S. and UK, Indonesia Echoes China’s Concerns About Asia-Pacific Arms Race

by Eric Olander

Indonesia’s Foreign Ministry took to Twitter on Tuesday to restate its longstanding concern that Australia’s acquisition of U.S. and UK-made nuclear-powered attack submarines could destabilize the Asia-Pacific region and violate the nuclear non-proliferation treaty (NPT) of which Australia is a signatory.

Jakarta’s statement closely aligns with China’s position on the issue, specifically that the submarines threaten to undermine the NPT, which is a bit odd, given that the AUKUS agreement unveiled on Tuesday in California does not make any reference to nuclear weapons, only to nuclear propulsion submarines.

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