The IAEA Director General, in his first written reports which was not mandated by the Member States on the nuclear submarine cooperation under AUKUS, selectively quoted the arguments of the three countries in an attempt to justify their illegal behavior. He erroneously drew the conclusion that Article 14 of Australia’s CSA with the agency would apply to the trilateral nuclear submarine cooperation. As mentioned, not only is this conclusion erroneous, it also ignores the grave concern of the international community about the nuclear proliferation risks posed by the tripartite cooperation. In addition, many countries firmly , seriously and solemnly believe that this trilateral cooperation violates the purposes and objectives of the NPT. The report of the Director General does not even take notice of this firmly, seriously and solemnly held view. Thus, this report is neither neutral, nor objective nor professional.

On this issue, the spokesperson of the Chinese permanent mission in Vienna gave the following opinion:

The fact that the report of the Director General of IAEA does not fully reflect the ground realities of the tripartite submarine cooperation under AUKUS and that it has been presented under other than agreed agenda items, clearly indicates the extent to which the IAEA Secretariat has been manipulated and interfered with.  

It is the sincere wish of China and that of many other countries that the Director General of IAEA should not become a political tool of the three countries. He must remain objective, impartial and neutral.

In China's view it was wrong on the part of the Director General, in the absence of a legal basis and without a mandate from Member States, to get substantively involved in the activities proposed under AUKUS. Particularly as many countries regard these activities as promoting nuclear proliferation and as being in violation of the NPT regime.

Many countries believe that the Director General's involvement   goes well beyond his mandate, contradicts Australia’s CSA with the Agency and violates the objectives set out in the IAEA Statute. This involvement is even more culpable when account is taken of the fact that even before the three countries had declared any nuclear material, the Director General jumped to the conclusion that Article 14 of CSA would apply to the trilateral nuclear submarine cooperation and thus exclude weapons-grade nuclear material involved in the cooperation. Devoid of any legal basis and patently absurd, this will seriously mislead the Member States and undermine the authority of the Agency.

In the light of all the above, China calls on the three countries to abandon their confrontational behavior, stop their political maneuvering of the Secretariat, fulfill in good faith their legal obligations toward non-proliferation and safeguards and truthfully report information on relevant cooperation to the Director General and to the Member States. At the same time, they should abandon any illusion of coercing the Secretariat into covering up their illegal proliferation behavior and stop doing whatever they want by relying on the voting advantage of Western countries in the Board.