On September 15, Biden, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison and UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced the creation of a new three-country defense partnership AUKUS to fight China.
As noted by Euronews, the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell expressed regret over the creation of the alliance. At the same time, he noted that he hopes to improve transatlantic relations.
According to the EU foreign affairs representative Frederic Grar, “The EU has been told that it has nothing to do in the Indo-Pacific region.” Grar stressed that the United States is behaving inconsistently – “for a long time they tried to involve the EU in the affairs of the region, assuring that it was not a question of a choice between the United States and China, and gave the European Union guarantees of participation in all important matters.”
Due to the new military alliance AUKUS, in connection with the “exceptional gravity of the statements” of Washington and Canberra on September 17, their ambassadors from the United States and Australia recalled France.
Ashley Townshend, director of foreign policy and defense programming at the United States Center in Sydney, believes the new AUKUS partnership is “a sign of the Biden administration’s willingness to empower close allies like Australia by providing high-tech defense technology assistance,” wrote Politico.
The new partnership effectively thwarted a 2016 deal between Australia and the French shipbuilding group Naval Group to build up to 12 conventional submarines, noted Bloomberg.
In Paris, Canberra’s actions were called “stabbing in the back.” French Ambassador to Australia Jean-Pierre Thébaud, recalled to Paris for consultations, compared to betrayal actions of the Australian government after Canberra’s refusal from the agreement on the construction of submarines for $ 90 billion. According to him, there are reliable reports that the decision to break the agreement with France after the creation of AUKUS was being prepared within 18 months.
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