China’s foreign minister has accused Western powers in the AUKUS security pact of provoking division and risking nuclear proliferation in the South Pacific.

On a weekend visit to strengthen Beijing’s ties with Papua New Guinea, Foreign Minister Wang Yi lashed out at AUKUS, which provides for the United States and Britain to equip Australia with nuclear-powered but conventionally armed submarines, The Arab News reported. 

The three-way AUKUS agreement “runs counter” to a South Pacific treaty banning nuclear weapons in the region, he told a news conference in Port Moresby.

AUKUS also “raises serious nuclear proliferation risks,” the Chinese foreign minister told reporters after meeting with his Papua New Guinea counterpart Justin Tkatchenko.