Great Britain, the United States and Australia have announced a new Indo-Pacific partnership (AUKUS, Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States). AUKUS plans to build nuclear-powered submarines. Australia ended the contract with the French company Naval Group on the purchase of 12 French diesel-powered submarines for 56 billion euros. That is why France invited its ambassadors to the USA and Australia to Paris for consultations. She did not attend the American-French cooperation ceremony..
French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said that this is not only a violation of the treaty but also a “stab in the back”, and that the Europeans should seriously think about the character of the alliance. “Mond” writes that European ministers should have learned a lesson from the Afghan fiasco. The EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Josep Borrell’s solidarity with France was symbolic only. News that trade negotiations between the EU and Australia, which have been ongoing since 2018, will be ended, has been denied.
