Prime Minister Scott Morrison says France should have known Australia may have ditched its $90 billion sub deal, while France has accused Australia of treachery | swrighteconomy nickbonyhady
over the decision by Canberra to abandon its deal with France’s Naval Group to build 12 submarines. Australia will instead buy at least eight nuclear-powered submarines, most likely from the United States, as part of the security partnership with Britain.
Mr Morrison, who held talks with French leader Emmanuel Macron about the submarines in June, said Australia’s concerns about the Naval Group boats were well known. He said he could understand France’s disappointment, but added he had always been clear that Australia would act in its own strategic interests. “I think they would have had every reason to know that we have deep and grave concerns that the capability being delivered by the attack class submarine was not going to meet our strategic interests and we had made very clear that we would be making a decision based on our strategic national interest,” Mr Morrison said. “Ultimately this was a decision about whether the submarines that were being built at great cost to the Australian taxpayer were going to be able to do a job that we needed it to do when they went into service. “Our strategic judgment based on the best possible of intelligence and defence advice was that it would not, and so therefore to go forward when we are able to secure a supreme submarine capability to support our defence operations, it would have been negligent for us not to.” Mr Morrison said he had told Mr Macron of Australia’s decision on the evening before it was announced.But France’s Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian, in a sign of the rupture between Paris and Canberra, used public television to label the decision as “duplicity, disdain and lies”. The recalling of its ambassadors “signifies the force of the crisis today” between the French government and Washington and Canberra, he said in an interview on France 2 television. French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian says Australia and the US have betrayed France with the submarine deal.Mr Le Drian denied reports there had been advance consultations with France ahead of the announcement, saying “this isn’t true”. “ don’t treat each other with such brutality, such unpredictability, a major partner like France ... So there really is a crisis. There are reasons for us to question the strength of our alliance,” he said. The French ambassador to Australia, Jean-Pierre Thebault, said before he left the country that he had been at the meeting between Mr Macron and Mr Morrison in June. He said the Australian Prime Minister had mentioned “there were changes in the regional situation” but gave no indication it was about to abandon the French contract.“Everything was supposed to be done in full transparency between the two partners,” he said. A spokesman for Mr Morrison said later the ambassador was not at the meeting as it was dinner between the Prime Minister and Mr Macron. Outside the submarines decision, the new Australia-UK-US agreement also provides for advanced technology such as long-range hypersonic missiles and undersea drones. More US Marine troop deployments in Australia are also likely.Mr Dutton said the risk of the local power industry or internet banking being shut down by overseas actors was very real, arguing the agreement with Britain and America would boost Australia’s chances to retaliate. “We need to make sure that we’ve got the defences in place but also the offensive capacity as well to be able to strike back so that people have to think twice about attacking us,” he told Sky News. “It provides a deterrence and it also provides us with the ability, given we’re an island nation we’ve got choke points to the north approaches ... need to be dealt with, and so there are a range of capabilities that we could use to strike again at extremists.” Labor foreign affairs spokeswoman Penny Wong accused Mr Morrison of failing to take responsibility for the deterioration in relations between Australia and France. “I think we’ve seen overnight, very concerning developments in that bilateral relationship, which is an important relationship for Australia and for the region,” she said. “Mr Morrison loves announcements. And he’s so obsessed with announcements, he doesn’t take responsibility for doing the whole job. He hasn’t taken responsibility when it comes to preparing the groundwork with important partners, like France.“on what’s making headlines around the world.
Please follow us on Google to support usAustralia Latest News, Australia Headlines
Similar News: You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Australia’s scrapped sub agreement with France ‘a shocker of a deal’
Read more »
France recalls its ambassadors to Australia and United States amid submarine furyFrance will recall its ambassadors from Australia and the US after the Morrison government's decision to tear up a $90 billion contract to buy 12 French submarines | BevanShields
Read more »
France recalls its ambassadors to Australia and United States amid submarine furyBreaking: France will recall its ambassadors from Australia and the US after the Morrison government's decision to tear up a $90 billion contract to buy 12 French submarines. | BevanShields AUKUS Auspol
Read more »
France withdraws ambassadors to Australia and US over submarines dealThe French Foreign Minister says the decision is 'justified by the exceptional seriousness of the announcements' made by the new AUKUS alliance between the US, Australia and the UK.
Read more »
France withdraws ambassadors from Australia, US over AUKUS allianceRelations with France are continuing to sour after French ambassadors were recalled from Australia and the United States in direct response to the nuclear submarine agreement announced on Thursday.
Read more »
Australia news LIVE: Australian Medical Association backs COVID-19 reopening plan, France could suspend trade talksThe Australian Medical Association has cautiously backed the national plan for reopening, Victoria will release its re-opening plan, while French President Emmanuel Macron recalled his ambassador from Canberra amid warnings that future trade deals and military ties between the nations are in jeopardy.
Read more »