France on Friday plunged into an unprecedented diplomatic crisis with Australia and the US after it recalled its ambassadors from both countries over a trilateral security deal that sank a French-designed submarine contract with Canberra.
The rare decision taken by French President Emmanuel Macron was made due to the “exceptional gravity” of the matter, French Minister of Europe and Foreign Affairs Jean-Yves le Drian said in a statement.
On Thursday, Australia said it would scrap a US$40 billion deal signed in 2016 for France’s Naval Group to build a fleet of conventional submarines, and would instead build at least eight nuclear-powered submarines with US and British technology after striking a trilateral security partnership. France called it a stab in the back.
Photo: AFP
A diplomatic source in France said it was the first time that Paris had recalled its own ambassadors in this way.
Yesterday morning, Australia said it regretted the recall, and that it valued the relationship with France and would keep engaging with Paris on other issues.
“Australia understands France’s deep disappointment with our decision, which was taken in accordance with our clear and communicated national security interests,” a spokesperson for Australian Minister of Foreign Affairs Marise Payne said in a statement.
US Department of State spokesman Ned Price said France was a “vital ally” and that the US would be engaged in the coming days to resolve the differences.
The French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs statement made no mention of the UK, but the diplomatic source said France considered Britain had joined the deal in an opportunistic manner.
“We don’t need to hold consultations with our [British] ambassador to know what to make of it or to draw any conclusions,” the source added.
Le Drian said the deal was unacceptable.
“The cancelation [of the project] ... and the announcement of a new partnership with the United States meant to launch studies on a possible future cooperation on nuclear-powered submarines, constitute unacceptable behavior between allies and partners,” he said.
He added that the consequences “directly affect the vision we have of our alliances, of our partnerships and of the importance of the Indo-Pacific for Europe.”
The row marks the lowest point in relations between Australia and France since 1995, when Canberra protested France’s decision to resume nuclear testing in the South Pacific and recalled its ambassador for consultations.
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Friday rejected French criticism that it had not been warned about the new deal, saying that he had raised the possibility in talks with Macron in June.
Morrison insisted he had told Macron in June that Australia had revised its thinking.
“I made it very clear, we had a lengthy dinner there in Paris, about our very significant concerns about the capabilities of conventional submarines to deal with the new strategic environment we’re faced with,” he told 5aa Radio. “I made it very clear that this was a matter that Australia would need to make a decision on in our national interest.”
The strain in multilateral ties comes as the US and its allies seek additional support in Asia and the Pacific given concern about the rising influence of a more assertive China.
France is about to take over the presidency of the EU, which on Thursday released its strategy for the Indo-Pacific, pledging to seek a trade deal with Taiwan and to deploy more ships to keep sea routes open.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Thursday tried to calm the French outcry, calling France a vital partner in the region.
A Chinese aircraft carrier group entered Japan’s economic waters over the weekend, before exiting to conduct drills involving fighter jets, the Japanese Ministry of Defense said yesterday. The Liaoning aircraft carrier, two missile destroyers and one fast combat supply ship sailed about 300km southwest of Japan’s easternmost island of Minamitori on Saturday, a ministry statement said. It was the first time a Chinese aircraft carrier had entered that part of Japan’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ), a ministry spokesman said. “We think the Chinese military is trying to improve its operational capability and ability to conduct operations in distant areas,” the spokesman said. China’s growing
Nine retired generals from Taiwan, Japan and the US have been invited to participate in a tabletop exercise hosted by the Taipei School of Economics and Political Science Foundation tomorrow and Wednesday that simulates a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan in 2030, the foundation said yesterday. The five retired Taiwanese generals would include retired admiral Lee Hsi-min (李喜明), joined by retired US Navy admiral Michael Mullen and former chief of staff of the Japan Self-Defense Forces general Shigeru Iwasaki, it said. The simulation aims to offer strategic insights into regional security and peace in the Taiwan Strait, it added. Foundation chair Huang Huang-hsiung
PUBLIC WARNING: The two students had been tricked into going to Hong Kong for a ‘high-paying’ job, which sent them to a scam center in Cambodia Police warned the public not to trust job advertisements touting high pay abroad following the return of two college students over the weekend who had been trafficked and forced to work at a cyberscam center in Cambodia. The two victims, surnamed Lee (李), 18, and Lin (林), 19, were interviewed by police after landing in Taiwan on Saturday. Taichung’s Chingshui Police Precinct said in a statement yesterday that the two students are good friends, and Lin had suspended her studies after seeing the ad promising good pay to work in Hong Kong. Lee’s grandfather on Thursday reported to police that Lee had sent
BUILDUP: US General Dan Caine said Chinese military maneuvers are not routine exercises, but instead are ‘rehearsals for a forced unification’ with Taiwan China poses an increasingly aggressive threat to the US and deterring Beijing is the Pentagon’s top regional priority amid its rapid military buildup and invasion drills near Taiwan, US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said on Tuesday. “Our pacing threat is communist China,” Hegseth told the US House of Representatives Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense during an oversight hearing with US General Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. “Beijing is preparing for war in the Indo-Pacific as part of its broader strategy to dominate that region and then the world,” Hegseth said, adding that if it succeeds, it could derail
RSS