In an unprecedented move on Friday, France recalled its envoys to the United States (US) and Australia for consultations in response to the two countries’ new trilateral security partnership with the United Kingdom (UK).
The partnership, AUKUS, allows Australia to build nuclear-powered submarines using the technology shared by the US and the UK. The alliance aims to counter China’s growing influence in the Indo-Pacific region. However, for this partnership, Australia abandoned its 2016 multibillion-dollar submarine deal with France.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian called the cancellation of the agreement “unacceptable behaviour” and justified President Emmanuel Macron’s decision to recall envoys due to the “exceptional seriousness of the announcements made by Australia and the United States.”
Earlier on Thursday, Le Drian criticised both the US and Australia and said, “It was a stab in the back. We built a relationship of trust with Australia, and this trust was betrayed. This is not done between allies.” He also compared US President Joe Biden’s move with Donald Trump’s “American First” doctrine. “Paris had raised the issue of the Indo-Pacific strategy during the June 25 visit to Paris of US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, expressing the importance of its submarine programme with Australia,” the diplomat said. “We said that it was for us a very important and critical component in our Indo-Pacific strategy,” he added.
On Saturday, French Ambassador to Australia Jean-Pierre Thébault publicly condemned Australia for cancelling the agreement with France and accused Canberra of intentionally blindsiding Paris for 18 months, citing media reports indicating private talks between the US and Australia regarding the partnership.
Alongside these developments, the French embassy in Washington cancelled a reception scheduled for Friday to commemorate the 240th anniversary of the Battle of the Chesapeake that celebrates the victory of the French naval forces over the British fleet during the American revolution.
It has been reported that Macron received a letter from Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Wednesday informing him about the cancellation of the submarine deal. Subsequently, French officials tried to seek clarity on the situation from the US administration. In addition, France accused Australia of not revealing its intention to shift to nuclear-powered submarines during a meeting between the French President and the Australian Prime Minister in Paris on June 15.
“The US regrets France’s decision and will continue to be engaged in the coming days to resolve differences between the two countries,” a White House official said.
Similarly, on Saturday, Australia expressed regret over France’s decision. A spokesperson for the Australian Foreign Ministry said, “Australia values its relationship with France. We look forward to engaging with France again on our many issues of shared interest, based on shared values.”
However, on Sunday, Morrison said he does not regret terminating the submarine contract with France. “Australia had flagged up doubts over the French subs months ago and that the US nuclear vessels would serve its interests better in the Indo-Pacific region,” he said. The PM added, “We formed the view that the capability the attack-class submarines (they) were going to provide was not what Australia needed to protect our sovereign interests.”
Morrison left for the US on Monday to attend a meeting with Biden and British PM Boris Johnson and a discussion of Quad members.
Macron is expected to hold talks with Biden in the coming days on the latter’s request to discuss the diplomatic feud over AUKUS. Concerning this, the spokesperson of the French government, Gabriel Attal, in an interview on Friday, said, “Macron will be seeking explanations from Biden about what led to a major rupture in confidence.”