French President Emmanuel Macron’s team is outraged by President Joe Biden’s announcement to share US and British nuclear submarine technology with Australia, which overturns an agreement for Australia to acquire French ships.
“The US choice to exclude a European ally and partner like France from a structuring alliance with Australia, at a time when we are facing unprecedented challenges in the Indo-Pacific region … shows a lack of consistency that France can only observe and regret, “French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian and French Armed Forces Minister Florence Parly said in a joint statement Wednesday evening.
His protest sparked a Parisian strike over a deal that U.S. observers hailed as a major strategic breakthrough for Australia and a testament to the power of the U.S. alliance network, challenging China’s argument according to which the chaotic withdrawal of the United States from Afghanistan foreshadows future failures of American support. for the allies. Still, the Macron government sees the announcement as a breach of trust by Australia and a sign of disrespect on the part of Biden that increases the need for “strategic autonomy” from the United States.
“The unfortunate decision … only reinforces the need to make clear the issue of European strategic autonomy,” the French leaders said. “There is no other credible way to defend our interests and our values in the world, including in the Indo-Pacific.”
BIDEN LOSES EUROPE’S CONFIDENCE
Biden’s team cited the UK’s involvement in the deal as a mechanism to bring a transatlantic ally to the Indo-Pacific, as U.S. officials try to manage and deter China’s impending threats.
“These relations with Britain and Australia are time-tested: our oldest allies in general,” a senior administration official told reporters on Wednesday. “This is designed not only to strengthen our capabilities in the East Pacific, but to link Europe, and in particular Britain, with our strategic goals in the region in general … Britain is very much focused on the concept of ‘Britain’s world’ and its inclination is to relate much more to the Indo-Pacific, and this is an initial payment for this effort. ‘
Biden extended an olive branch to France, the oldest ally in the United States, while implying that the new agreement represented an example of London following the example of Paris.
“In fact, this effort reflects a broader trend of key European countries playing an extremely important role in the Indo-Pacific,” Biden said. “France, in particular, already has a significant Indo-Pacific presence and is a key partner and ally in strengthening the security and prosperity of the region. The United States looks forward to working closely with France and other key countries as we move forward. “
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Still, the deal condemns a plan for Australia to acquire $ 90 billion worth of diesel-powered submarines from France.
“The world is a jungle. France has just been reminded of this bitter truth by the fact that the United States and the United Kingdom have stabbed him in the back in Australia, ”former French Ambassador to the United States Gerard Araud wrote on Twitter. “That’s life.”
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Tags: News, Foreign Policy, National Security, France, Australia, China, Joe Biden, Nuclear Submarine, UK
Original author: Joel Gehrke
Original location: “The world is a jungle”: France smokes in the US-Australia nuclear submarine agreement