Aukus ‘expensive’ and not ‘easy to replicate’, Australian officials told foreign diplomats

Aukus is the first time a provision of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty regime has been used to transfer naval nuclear propulsion technology from a nuclear weapons state to a non-weapons state. Photograph: Richard Wainwright/AAP

Australian officials have told foreign diplomats that the Aukus submarine plan is “expensive” and not “easy to replicate”, as part of an effort to play down concerns about the risks of other countries racing to do the same, a newly released tranche of documents reveals.

Officials also urged diplomats to be on guard for disinformation about the nuclear-powered submarine plan, the documents show.