France was none-too-pleased in September of 2021 when they were
blindsided by the announcement of a new security agreement between the
US, UK, and Australia (AUKUS) — one which included bringing Australia
into the nuclear submarine fold.
As RedState’s streiff noted at the time:
Biden announced that the United States would allow nuclear submarine
technology transfer to Australia. This is significant. It would make
Australia the only nation other than Britain to have US nuclear
submarine technology. It would change the nature of Australia’s
submarine force from one focused on coastal defense to one that could
strike against Chinese targets. The nuclear boats that Australia would
acquire would outclass the Chinese nuclear boats and alter the balance
of power in the Western Pacific. Everyone expected the Chicoms (and
their paid-for “defense analyst” mouthpieces in the United States) to be
upset, but no one really expected this:
Calling American and Australian behavior “unacceptable
between allies and partners,” France announced on Friday that it was
recalling its ambassadors to both countries in protest over President
Biden’s decision to provide nuclear-powered submarines to Australia.
It was the first time in the history of the long alliance between
France and the United States, dating back to 1778, that a French
ambassador has been recalled to Paris in this way for consultations. The
decision by President Emmanuel Macron reflects the extent of French
outrage at what it has a called a “brutal” American decision and a “stab
in the back” from Australia.
In a statement, Jean-Yves Le Drian, the French foreign minister, said
the decision was made by Mr. Macron, who is understood to be furious
about the way the United States, Britain and Australia negotiated the
deal without informing France.
Australia on Wednesday canceled a $66 billion agreement to purchase
French-built, conventionally powered submarines, hours before the deal
with Washington and London was announced.
“At the request of the President of the Republic, I have decided to
immediately recall our two ambassadors to the United States and
Australia to Paris for consultations,” the statement said. “This
exceptional decision is justified by the exceptional gravity of the
announcements made on 15 September by Australia and the United States.”
The French fit of pique didn’t last terribly long, however. By the end
of September 2021, France’s ambassador, Philippe Étienne, had returned
to the U.S. and reaffirmed “the goal to rebuild trust in our
relationship,” while acknowledging there was still work to be done.
On Monday, President Biden was in California to celebrate the AUKUS deal. Per the Washington Post:
President Biden heads
to California today to celebrate an 18-month-old deal designed to equip
Australia’s navy with British-made nuclear submarines, a seminal
arrangement emblematic of his eagerness to confront China even at the expense of relations with traditional allies.
In this case, that means France,
which briefly recalled its ambassador after Australia, Britain and the
United States surprised the world in September 2021 with the new AUKUS
security pact. Why? AUKUS scuttled a blockbuster contract for Paris to supply Canberra with diesel-electric subs.
The leaders issued a joint statement prior to their appearance at Naval Base Pointa Loma in San Diego.
“We believe in a
world that protects freedom and respects human rights, the rule of law,
the independence of sovereign states, and the rules-based international
order.
“The steps we are announcing today will help us to advance these mutually beneficial objectives in the decades to come.”
While France was angered over the loss of a $66 billion contract to
build a fleet of conventional submarines, China is no fan of the deal
either.
China has argued
that the AUKUS deal violates the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. It
contends that the transfer of nuclear weapons materials from a
nuclear-weapon state to a non-nuclear-weapon state is a “blatant”
violation of the spirit of the pact. Australian officials have pushed
back against the criticism, arguing that it they are working to acquire
nuclear-powered, not nuclear-armed, submarines.
“The question is
really how does China choose to respond because Australia is not backing
away from what it — what it sees to be doing in its own interests
here,” said Charles Edel, a senior adviser and Australia chair at the
Center for Strategic and International Studies. “I think that probably
from Beijing’s perspective they’ve already counted out Australia as a
wooable mid country. It seemed to have fully gone into the U.S. camp.”
https://redstate.com/smoosieq/2023/03/13/biden-in-san-diego-to-celebrate-nuclear-submarine-deal-with-uk-and-australia-france-unavailable-for-comment-n715879
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