Jakarta presses case against AUKUS nuclear plan

THE new AUKUS security alliance is having to defend its plan to arm Australia with nuclear-powered submarines at the UN Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) review meeting, now underway at the United Nations in New York. The trio -- United States, Britain and Australia -- known for their hyper vigilance of nuclear proliferation activity elsewhere, faces Indonesia’s objection to their plan.

In a submission to the UN review, Jakarta notes “with concern the potential consequences" of providing nuclear propulsion technology which could undermine the fragile non-proliferation edifice. Indonesia, together with Malaysia, expressed reservations from the first time the AUKUS alliance revealed that Australia planned to get at least eight nuclear-powered submarines, fearing a regional arms race.

To its credit, Indonesia has always emphasised the equal primacy of all three pillars of the NPT - non-proliferation, disarmament and peaceful uses of nuclear energy. It has been equally vocal about the second pillar of the NPT – disarmament. Jakarta has consistently voiced concerns about the apparent indifference to nuclear disarmament, calling on all nuclear weapon states to eliminate their nuclear arsenals in an “irreversible and verifiable” manner, as declared in the treaty.