"Its None Of My Business" : PM Fiame On Nuclear Powered Submarines
Senior Pacific Leader & Samoa's Prime Minister Fiame Naomi Mataafa at the Lowy Institute on Monday night in Australia.
Photo By: ( Petri Kurkaa / Lowy Institute )
Prime Minister Hon.Fiame Naomi Mata'afa said that nuclear-powered submarines by Australia , United Kingdom and the United States (AUKUS) is "none of my business".
The Honorable Prime Minister had the chance to speak at the Lowy Institute after her arrival on Monday night of this week and met with journalists who wanted to know her thoughts on some of the aforementioned topics in the Pacific talks.
One of the questions she was asked was about Australia's plan to conduct nuclear tests at sea, as evidenced by the recent AUKUS agreement that was inked with the United States and the United Kingdom and formed in September 2021.
Fiame asserts that Samoa have a thorough awareness of the current predicament, which is caused by the nuclear programs of Australia, United Kingdom, and the United States under Aukus.
She then went on and said at the meeting on Monday night this week ,that the plans made by Australia and the countries of the Pacific should be discussed first. She didn't fully disagree with the project but when she was asked she chuckled and said "its none of my business"
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese stated
"The islands of the Pacific have not been consulted about this subject, nor have a discussion about it," he said.
He also added and warned that the increasing competition between major countries is causing risks for the small countries of this new policy. "Indo-Pacific" for the wider region without consulting small island nations like Samoa.
The issue is the most sensitive in the countries of the Pacific, which have strong evidence against nuclear weapons, and which - in some cases - are still struggling with the dangers of hundreds of nuclear tests. done by Western governments in the decades after World War II.
Only Tuvalu's Foreign Minister Simone Kofe has openly and bluntly criticized his opposition to the AUKUS plan so far, making him the only well-known official in the Pacific to do so.
The office of Mr. Sogavare just stated in a statement that he "reminded" Australian officials that the Pacific is "peaceful" and is "nuclear weapon-free," without criticizing AUKUS.
Yet, the Pacific region continues to press Australia to act decisively in order to lessen the influence of nations and the global community on climate change in the Pacific.