Experts talk about the loss of confidence in both Joe Biden and NATO due to the new military bloc AUKUS.
Western countries are experiencing crisis over Australia decision to abandon the contract with France for submarines in favor of an agreement with the United States and Britain as part of the creation of a new military bloc AUKUS. Politicians and experts talk about the NATO threat. Correspondent.net says that the authoritative press writes about this situation.
USA “a little sorry”
Libération, France
While underlining the reliability of this trio, which also forms, along with Canada and New Zealand, the powerful Anglo-Saxon intelligence alliance of the Five Eyes, Joe Biden seems to be playing a succession card.
“Our countries are adapting and will improve our common ability to confront the threats of the 21st century together, as they did in the 20th century,” he said.
However, continuity also has its limits, since in the world in the past 20 years there have been primarily ruptures and upheavals: the September 11 attacks, the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, the Arab Spring, the digital revolution, Brexit, the election of Donald Trump.
And all this – against the backdrop of the economic and military rise of China, whose entry into the WTO in 2001 entailed consequences that the West did not expect.
In their speeches in honor of the creation of AUKUS, the leaders of the three states tried not to openly mention China, but there is no doubt that Beijing embodies the threat of the 21st century for the United States, which Joe Biden, like Trump before him, intends to confront.
It is no coincidence that the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan and the proclamation of the Anglo-Saxon partnership took place almost simultaneously. Washington, as if freeing itself from the Afghan burden, now intends to accelerate its movement. And he will only be a little sorry if it hurts the feelings of rivals – China, and allies – France and the EU.
Now NATO needs psychotherapy
Svenska Dagbladet, Швеция
Discontent stirred up not only France, but the entire North Atlantic Alliance. “Joe Biden’s stock is constantly falling. Clearly NATO is shaking up because of this,” says Anne-Sophie Dahl, an assistant professor of international politics who has written several books on NATO.
She believes that although France suffered financially from AUKUS in the first place, the pact is, in general, clearly symbolic. The United States has once again decided to go its own way. Without consulting Europe or even informing it.
This, Dahl said, undermines the credibility of the American president. “When Joe Biden took over as President of the United States after several years of Donald Trump’s rule, the NATO countries had sky-high expectations. And Biden himself fueled them with his speeches that America is back.” Because of this, the disappointment is now even more bitter, “she says.
It’s time for Biden to start paying a little more attention to relations with Europe, the expert said.
“NATO needs psychotherapy. Biden must somehow show European countries that they are important, and not take their good attitude for granted. Dahl believes
France may withdraw from NATO again
BBC News, Britain
French Gaullists, one of whom is Emmanuel Macron, have always dreamed of seeing their country as a fully independent power, maintaining a global military presence and contributing to the overall nuclear deterrence effort.
In fact, they completely tied themselves to the US-led bloc, finding it both moral and useful. Now in Paris the questions are loudly heard: why do we need this? What do we have in return?
“Macron tried so hard to help the Anglo-Saxons in everything. The Americans in Afghanistan, the Australians in the Indo-Pacific region, the British in defense cooperation.“ Look, ”he would say,“ we are following you, we are real allies. We tried to be like that not only with Biden, but also with Trump. And so we received the award. We were treated like a dog, “says Figaro political columnist Renault Girard.
Now the French will probably begin to reconsider their role in NATO, in which they suspended their military participation in 1966 under de Gaulle, resuming it only in 2009 under Nicolas Sarkozy.
They don’t talk about it aloud yet, but it may end up with a second exit. After all, Macron called NATO an “atrophied brain” two years ago, and even more so now.
The lesson from the events of the last week is that France alone is too small to be a major strategic player …
Over the past 30 years, defense cooperation within the European Union has resulted in only a few joint brigades for France, a combined supply of troops and microscopic contingents of the Czech Republic and Estonia in Mali. According to Renault Girard, the idea of the EU as a military force is nothing more than a joke.
Transatlantic relations under threat
Atlantico, Hotel France
Is it possible to speak of France’s loneliness in the world in terms of defense, despite our membership in the EU and the existence of a Franco-German alliance? Should France find new allies or should it be willing to go it alone due to a lack of reliable friends??
Barthelemy Kurmon, Head of the Pacific Asia Program at IRIS: We need meaningful action to remind our partners of the strategic importance of Paris with its support in the region. In order not to forget about our naval potential, which makes France a key player.
For this it is necessary to set two tasks. First, the development of an independent, and not dictated by Washington, French strategy towards the Indo-Pacific region and, therefore, not consistent with Joe Biden’s haphazard foreign policy.
Second, a temporary withdrawal from NATO. How is it possible to remain in the alliance if its two main members, Washington and London, are acting in secret to weaken French interests?
The authority of our country in the strategic area is under threat. It is not only France’s policy in the Indo-Pacific that is under attack, but also transatlantic relations, which have their limits, are under threat.
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