Mixed reviews: the world responds to formation of Aukus alliance

ZHAO LIJIAN, CHINA’S FOREIGN MINISTRY SPOKESMAN

‘This severely damages regional peace and stability, and intensifies an arms race’

JOE BIDEN, US PRESIDENT

‘Initiative is about making sure that each of us has the most modern capabilities’

JEAN-YVES LE DRIAN, FRENCH FOREIGN MINISTER

‘It was really a stab in the back. We built a relationship of trust with Australia’

BORIS JOHNSON, UK PRIME MINISTER

‘Aukus is not intended to be adversarial towards any other power’

SCOTT MORRISON, AUSTRALIAN PRIME MINISTER

‘Let me be clear, Australia is not seeking to acquire nuclear weapons’