（September 10, 2025, Vienna International Centre）
This is the 19th consecutive time that the Board of Governors and the General Conference of IAEA have reviewed the AUKUS agenda item proposed by China since the announcement of AUKUS.
Over the past 4 years, from the perspective of safeguarding international and regional peace, security, and stability, and defending the integrity and effectiveness of the NPT and IAEA safeguards regime, China has clearly denounced the nuclear proliferation nature of the AUKUS cooperation. We have actively promoted intergovernmental discussions among IAEA Member States on all aspects of AUKUS. More and more countries have joined in, voicing varying views and concerns, making the discussions increasingly substantive and in depth.
The AUKUS partners insist on packaging AUKUS into a routine safeguards project, which misleads the IAEA and deceives the international community. Motivated by Cold War mentality and geopolitical strategy, AUKUS flagrantly violates the purposes and objectives of the NPT, which is outright nuclear proliferation. The essence of AUKUS lies in bloc confrontation, representing an unprecedented strategic military nuclear cooperation between two nuclear-weapon states and their non-nuclear-weapon military ally. It is unprecedented in the history of the NPT. This is fundamentally and significantly different from the hundreds or even thousands of peaceful nuclear cooperation projects carried out among IAEA Member States.
Regarding the impact of AUKUS on the IAEA safeguards regime, many Member States have expressed various concerns and views from their own perspectives. AUKUS involves the transfer of tons of weapons-grade highly enriched uranium and raises numerous complex political, legal, procedural, and technical issues. It also involves safeguard obligations that Australia, as a non-nuclear-weapon state, and the United States and the United Kingdom, as nuclear-weapon states, have never previously undertaken. IAEA has never implemented safeguards on any nuclear submarine, let alone on safeguards on a nuclear submarine cooperation project between Nuclear-Weapon-States and a Non-Nuclear-Weapon-State. If the IAEA were to implement safeguards on AUKUS cooperation, it will inevitably break the boundaries of the existing practices and models of the comprehensive safeguards regime, set an important precedent, and have far-reaching implications for other Member States.
In short, the safeguards on AUKUS are neither routine safeguards for peaceful uses of nuclear energy nor safeguards applied to a Member State’s own nuclear program. Trying to dress up a tiger as a cat, or call an orange a tangerine, neither fools anyone nor can it be accepted.
Madam Chair,
Throughout the IAEA's history, the improvement and development of the IAEA safeguards regime has always relied on universal participation, joint efforts and consensual endorsement among Member States. If this tradition is challenged or even undermined by AUKUS, causing divisions among Member States, it could have an immeasurable and profound impact. The safeguards issue related to AUKUS is of great significance and far-reaching impact. It must be carefully studied and discussed within the framework of the IAEA and by its Member States. The way in which the AUKUS cooperation is carried out and how far it goes is a matter for the three countries involved. However, the precedent it sets for the IAEA comprehensive safeguards regime concerns all Member States. It is not up to the three countries alone to decide, nor should they be handled by Australia and the IAEA Secretariat alone. When it comes to the development and improvement of the IAEA safeguards regime, each Member State has the right to voice and responsibility to uphold the regime, and and Australia, the US and the UK, are no exception.
In view of the above, the AUKUS issue must be addressed in the most cautious, responsible, and prudent manner, with a focus on safeguarding the integrity, effectiveness, authority, and universality of the NPT and IAEA regimes. We must uphold true multilateralism, and through meaningful and sustainable intergovernmental discussions, gradually explore solutions that will be agreed upon by all Member States and that will stand the test of time and practice. Unilateralism and double standards must be rejected. Group politics and bloc confrontation must be avoided. No country should be labeled as “politicizing” the issue simply for expressing different views.
Madam Chair,
In actively promoting intergovernmental discussion on the AUKUS issue, China has consistently advocated for sovereign equality, adherence to international rule of law, and the practice of multilateralism. We uphold a vision of common, comprehensive, cooperative, and sustainable security, prioritize the legitimate security concerns of all countries, and insist on resolving differences between countries through dialogue and consultation, rather than conflict and confrontation. Adhering to these principles serves the common interests of all Member States and is fundamental to maintaining the international nuclear non-proliferation regime. These important concepts are fully embodied in Global Governance Initiative and Global Security Initiative proposed by President Xi Jinping. Adhering to the above principles serves the common interests of Member States and is essential to safeguarding the international nuclear non-proliferation regime.
China advocates that IAEA Member States engage in open, inclusive, democratic, and transparent discussions on all aspects of the AUKUS issue, particularly on issues related to precedents, models, standards, and principles, based on equality and mutual respect. China respects and supports the IAEA Secretariat in carrying out its work in accordance with its mandate. We also believe that the Secretariat should strictly uphold its technical mandate objectivity, impartiality and independence, fully recognize the sensitivity and complexity of the AUKUS issues, fully respect and seriously treat the different views of Member States and objectively reflect the intergovernmental discussions particularly the different views and outstanding issues, to work with all Member States to properly address all the issues related to AUKUS.
The AUKUS partners claimed their cooperation will last for decades. Given this, the IAEA cannot afford to rush. IAEA Member States should strive to seek common grounds while shelving differences, focus on the long term, preserve unity and avoid division and jointly and prudently address the AUKUS issue on the basis of equality and mutual respect. China will continue to actively promote intergovernmental discussions among Member States on all aspects of the AUKUS issue. Let us work together to uphold the NPT and the IAEA regime.
Thank you, Madam Chair.