It’s Hard for Us to Restore Trust in Australia

JAKARTA – French stated that it would be difficult for them to restore faith in Australia . Relations between Australia and France were damaged after Canberra decided to cancel the submarine contract and chose to build nuclear submarines, assisted by the United States (US) and Britain, under the AUKUS framework.

The French Ambassador to Indonesia, Olivier Chambard said this might also have a domino effect on other collaborations.

“When trust is broken, several other things can be damaged as well,” said Chambard during a meeting with a number of Indonesian journalists at his residence in the Menteng area, Central Jakarta on Friday (24/9/2021).

He also said that with this incident, his party might be more careful in conducting talks and contracts regarding arms purchases with other countries. Also read: Against AUKUS, China Urged to Prepare for First Nuclear Strike

Chambard later said France would make changes in the dialogue regarding the procurement of military contracts. Changes are needed so that the country does not experience a similar incident again.

At the same time, he also acknowledged the concerns of a number of countries that the acquisition of Australian nuclear submarines under AUKUS could trigger an arms race in the region.

According to him, the acquisition of nuclear submarines can be used as an excuse by several countries to increase their arsenals. Also read: France removes Indonesia from the COVID-19 Redlist

(esn)

– .