Indonesia calls for tighter IAEA oversight on nuclear-powered submarines, warns of safety risks

Jakarta’s paper to UN conference says lack of IAEA safeguards against highly enriched uranium could be exploited for use in nuclear weapons programmes

Indonesia’s position is unlikely to affect bilateral ties with Australia, but supervision of nuclear material aboard submarines could prove difficult, analysts observe

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Published: 4:50pm, 5 Aug 2022

Indonesia is lobbying for tighter supervision on nuclear-powered submarines by the United Nations as it warns about the “catastrophic” humanitarian and environmental consequences if states do not adhere to the non-proliferation treaty.

While Jakarta’s working paper for this month’s Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT RevCon) does not mention Australia or its participation in the Aukus security pact with the United States and Britain, Indonesia has been among the most vocal opposition of the pact since it was announced last September.

In its paper, Jakarta said it “notes with concern” the potential consequences of nuclear-powered submarine capability sharing to the global non-proliferation pact, and called for “strict observance” by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), a UN nuclear watchdog.

“The exclusion of the production, use, and disposition of highly enriched uranium for nuclear naval propulsion from the IAEA safeguards could be exploited to provide a shield for diversion of that material to nuclear weapons programmes,” the paper said.

Jakarta also underlined the safety risks that could occur “during transportation, maintenance, and use” of nuclear naval propulsion, saying that Indonesia’s position as an archipelagic state “increases the level of vulnerability” to potential risks such as nuclear leaks, which could lead to “catastrophic humanitarian and environmental consequences”.

Tri Tharyat, director general for multilateral cooperation at Indonesia’s foreign ministry, said Jakarta aimed to bridge the different views of supporters and opponents of nuclear-powered submarines at the multilateral forum, as the lobbying efforts were aligned with the country’s free and active foreign policy.