On Thursday 16 September 2021 a forgetful geriatric US president, an English buffoon of a UK prime minister and, a somewhat desperate, 'trumpian' braggart Australian prime minister suddenly robbed of an active war zone to use in his upcoming election campaign photo ops, came together in a digital space to make an announcement - with as yet no substance behind it - which disturbed, upset, irritated or angered at least five other nations and possibly a well-established common market.
Our largest two-way trading partner in goods & services China accounting for est. one-third of our trade with the world; our oldest regional ally New Zealand; our most populous close neighbour Indonesia; another of our defence & regional security partners with which we a long-term, strong trading relationship Malaysia, a country known to use violent force in the Pacific against those it feels threatens its interests France; and, the European Union our third largest two-way trading partner in goods & services.
ABC News, 18 September 2021:
Senior French officials have accused Australia of deliberately keeping the country in the dark before announcing it would procure nuclear-powered submarines from the US and the UK, criticising a "breach of confidence".
The diplomatic spat is now threatening to spill over into Australia's trade relationship with Paris. Australia is currently negotiating a free trade agreement with the European Union.
When referencing the negotiations France's European Affairs Minister, Clément Beaune, told broadcaster France 24: "I don't see how we can trust our Australian partners."……
French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said the Australian and US ambassadors were recalled on request from President Emmanuel Macron, adding the decision was "justified by the exceptional seriousness of the announcements" made by the new AUKUS alliance between the US, Australia and the UK.
Mr Le Drian said the cancellation of the deal constituted "unacceptable behaviour between allies and partners, whose consequences directly affect the vision we have of our alliances, of our partnerships and of the importance of the Indo-Pacific for Europe".
BBC News, 18 September 2021:
How do you even pronounce Aukus? Something along the lines of "awkward" came the wry suggestion from one Brussels diplomat this week.
And while France has condemned the Australia-UK-US security pact as a "stab in the back", it is certainly awkward for the European Union too.
Firstly, because not only were they not in the room for discussions, they barely seemed to know the room existed…...
“We regret not having being informed, not having been part of these talks. I understand how disappointed the French government will be” Josep Borrell,EU foreign policy chief ….
The Sydney Morning Herald, September 2021:
Malaysian Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob fears the new three-way defence alliance between Australia, the United States and the United Kingdom will trigger a nuclear arms race in the contested Indo-Pacific.
On Saturday, Malaysia joined Indonesia in raising alarm bells about the military build-up in the region and the impact that the AUKUS pact, which includes Australia acquiring nuclear-propelled submarines, could have on regional stability……
“At the same time, it will provoke other powers to act more aggressively in the region, especially in the South China Sea,” his statement said. “As a country within ASEAN, Malaysia holds the principle of maintaining ASEAN as a Zone of Peace, Freedom and Neutrality.”…..
Aaron Connelly, an analyst at Singapore’s International Institute for Strategic Studies…..As Australia moves ever closer to the US under the AUKUS deal, Connelly thinks other nations in the region “will be less likely to side with Australia on specific issues because Australia has done this”…..
The Washington Post, 17 September 2021:
China on Thursday slammed a decision by the United States and Britain to share sensitive nuclear submarine technology with Australia….
At a regular news briefing in Beijing, Zhao said the alliance “seriously undermined regional peace and stability, aggravated the arms race and hurt international nonproliferation efforts.”…..
On Thursday, the state-run Global Times described the United States as “losing its mind trying to rally its allies against China” and accused Australia of becoming a “running dog” of Washington…..
The Sydney Morning Herald, 17 April 2021:
Australia’s plan to arm itself with a fleet of nuclear-propelled submarines to combat the rising threat of China has been met with alarm by near neighbour Indonesia.
South-east Asia’s largest country has expressed unease about Australia’s dramatic enhancing of its military, notably its intention to use US technology to build eight nuclear-powered submarines as part of the new three-way defence alliance with Washington DC and London.
In a statement issued on Friday, Indonesia foreign affairs spokesman Teuku Faizasyah said Jakarta had taken note of Australia’s decision to acquire nuclear-powered submarines and stressed “Indonesia is deeply concerned over the continuing arms race and power projection in the region”….
Naval News, 16 September 2021:
Following yesterday’s announcement that the Australian Government will no longer be proceeding with the Attack Class Submarine Program, France’s Foreign Ministry and Ministry of Defense issued the following statement:
France takes note of the decision just announced by the Australian government to stop the “Future Submarine Program” ocean-class submarine program and to launch cooperation with the United States on nuclear powered submarines.
It is a decision contrary to the letter and the spirit of the cooperation which prevailed between France and Australia, based on a relationship of political trust as on the development of an industrial and technological base of defense of very high level in Australia.
The American choice which leads to the removal of an ally and a European partner such as France from a structuring partnership with Australia, at a time when we are facing unprecedented challenges in the Indo-Pacific region, whether on our values or on respect for multilateralism based on the rule of law marks an absence of coherence that France can only observe and regret.
While the joint communication on the European strategy for cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region is being published today, France confirms its desire for very ambitious action in this region aimed at preserving the “freedom of sovereignty” of everyone. . The only European nation present in the Indo-Pacific with nearly two million of its nationals and more than 7,000 soldiers, France is a reliable partner which will continue to keep its commitments there, as it has always done.
The regrettable decision just announced on the FSP program only reinforces the need to raise the issue of European strategic autonomy loud and clear. There is no other credible way to defend our interests and values in the world, including the Indo-Pacific.
Newshub.com.nz, 16 September 2021:
New Zealand's Prime Minister has now responded, saying she discussed the arrangement with Australia's Scott Morrison on Wednesday night [15 September 2021].
"New Zealand is first and foremost a nation of the Pacific and we view foreign policy developments through the lens of what is in the best interest of the region," Ardern said.
"We welcome the increased engagement of the UK and US in the region and reiterate our collective objective needs to be the delivery of peace and stability and the preservation of the international rules based system.
"New Zealand’s position in relation to the prohibition of nuclear powered vessels in our waters remains unchanged."
UPDATE:
Reuters, 20 September 2021:
PARIS, Sept 19 (Reuters) - France has cancelled a meeting between Armed Forces Minister Florence Parly and her British counterpart planned for this week after Australia scrapped a submarine order with Paris in favour of a deal with Washington and London, two sources familiar with the matter said.
Parly personally took the decision to drop the bilateral meeting with British Defence Secretary Ben Wallace, the sources said.
The French defence ministry could not be immediately reached. The British defence ministry declined comment.
The sources confirmed an earlier report in the Guardian newspaper that the meeting had been cancelled…...
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