The BBC reported that the French ambassador will return to Australia to “redefine” relations. French President Emmanuel Macron reinstated his ambassador to Canberra in September after Australia signed a security cooperation agreement with Britain and the United States under which the French navy would be armed with US nuclear submarines.
France was affected by this decision for two reasons:
- On the one hand, in 2016, France also agreed with Australia to sell submarines, a deal signed in the well with the new agreement;
- Through its foreign possessions, France feels affected by the agreements governing security in the Pacific, so it resents the Anglo-Saxon countries for being excluded from the agreement.
He also called his home country the ambassadors of Washington and Canberra, indicating the extent of French outrage. The conflict with the Americans began as early as September, but Australia was left hanging for some time. Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said President Macron was not even ready to take his calls, and the Australian trade minister and his French counterpart did not reach out. As a result of the scandal, negotiations on a trade agreement between Australia and the European Union were postponed last week.
Now that the French have finally calmed down, Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian has spoken of a “reboot,” adding that this does not mean that France will give up representing its interests in the Pacific. The Australian government said it understood France’s frustration. “Australia values its relations with France, which is an important partner and a vital player in the security of the Indo-Pacific region,” Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne said last month.
The goal of the British-American-Australian alliance is to curb China’s aspirations for global power anyway: in the latter, the Chinese Navy plays a major role, the movement of which can be severely limited by the Australian Navy’s ability to guard the Chinese. The coast with its new nuclear submarines. (via BBC)
