LONDON – France does not hesitate to show its disappointment with Australia after abruptly terminating a submarine contract in order to sign a new agreement with the United States and the United Kingdom
“It was a stab in the back. We have established a relationship of trust with Australia. This trust has been betrayed, ”French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said Thursday morning on France Info.
Australia signed a contract with French shipbuilder Naval Group in 2016 to build a new fleet, at a cost of $ 40 billion, according to Reuters. The two sides confirmed the deal two weeks ago. However, Canberra has now decided to rescind that deal and join forces with the United States and Britain.
On Wednesday evening, the three countries announced a new security partnership under which Australia will receive new nuclear-powered submarines. The agreement with France would have provided conventional submarines.
“We intend to build these submarines in Adelaide in close cooperation with the United Kingdom and the United States, but let me clarify that Australia is not looking for nuclear weapons,” said the Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Twitter.
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PARIS, FRANCE – JUNE 15: French President Emmanuel Macron (right) greets Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison (left) before a working dinner at the Elysee Presidential Palace on June 15, 2021.
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He added that France is a “good partner” and that the new agreement is motivated by a “changing strategic environment”, according to France 24.
A French official confirmed to CNBC that the French Embassy in Washington had also canceled a party at its sprawling complex due to frustration over the new trilateral partnership.
The event, which was to commemorate the “240th anniversary of the Battle of the Heads”, will not take place at the Embassy on Friday.
“Other parts of the celebration are continuing,” the official said, including a wreath-laying ceremony in Annapolis. A French destroyer will be towed into the port of Baltimore on Monday, as will a French submarine into the port of Norfolk.
US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken told reporters on Thursday that he and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin had spoken to their French counterparts about the new security deal before it was unveiled.
“I’ll leave it to our Australian partners to describe why they are looking for this new technology. But as the President said and I want to stress it again, we are cooperating incredibly with France on many common priorities in the Indo-Pacific but also in the world ”, declared Blinken.
“We will continue to do so, we attach a fundamental value to this relationship, to this partnership and we will continue to move forward in the coming days,” added the country’s top diplomat.
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bitter relations
US President Joe Biden talks about national security with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison in the East Room of the White House in Washington, DC on September 15, 2021.
Brendan Smilofsky | AFP | Getty Images
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As the French Ministers of Foreign Affairs and the Armed Forces have said in a joint statement Thursday: “The American choice which leads to exclude a European ally and partner like France from the structuring of a partnership with Australia, at a time when we are facing unprecedented challenges in the Indo-Pacific region … indicates the lack of cohesion that France can only look at and regret. “
The statement added that recent developments intensify the need for European strategic autonomy – the idea that the EU should become more independent with its defense and security policies.
The European Commission, the executive body of the European Union, presented its strategy for the Indo-Pacific region on Thursday afternoon in Brussels. “We have to live alone, as others do,” said EU Foreign Affairs Chief Josep Borrell.
Spokesmen for the White House and the Australian Embassy in London were not immediately available for comment when contacted by CNBC.
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