Washington seeks to pacify Paris’ anger over Australian submarines

France is a key partner In the Indo-Pacific region And many other areas, Said Anthony Blingen, President of US Diplomacy. It has been a long time coming and it will be in the future., He promised.

In the fire of American-French relations, the New “Indo-Pacific” alliance Announced by President Fidel on Wednesday with the United Kingdom and Australia.

This is called a strategic partnership AUKUS, With a clear commitment to counter China’s growing ambitions in the region, including the delivery of US nuclear-powered submarines to Canberra – and effectively expelling the French game.

“Back to Trump”

French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Trian does not have strong enough words to provoke him Anger And his Bitterness After this Unilateral, brutal, unpredictable results.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian traveled to Qatar on September 13, 2021.

Photo: Getty Images / AFP / KARIM JAAFAR

Condemnation a Blow backHe compared the Biden method on Thursday What was he doing His predecessor, Donald Trump, insulted a Democrat who wanted to distance himself from the Republican billionaire.

This was not done between the allies, Beat the French officer who negotiated The deal of the century When he was defense minister in 2016.

Lack of advice was pointed out

The grand deal provided 12 French submarines worth $ 90 billion ($ 83 billion) to Australia with regular incentives. As part of a new partnership between Washington, London and Canberra, Australia has broken the agreement and will eventually benefit from nuclear submarines provided by its Anglo-Saxon allies.

The French had a better version than the one used by the United States and the United Kingdom, and in the end our decision was based on what was best for our national interest., Justified by Australian Defense Minister Peter Dutton, who visited Washington on Thursday.

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On his side, Maurice Payne, the head of Australian diplomacy, considered it US leadership in the Indo-Pacific region Was unavoidable.

Beyond trade issues, Paris condemns the lack of consultation, especially since the issue came after the US withdrawal from Afghanistan, leaving traces with US allies whose positions did not really weigh on Joe Biden’s decision.

Europeans now have an idea Very clear Washington summed up a source familiar with the matter in Paris, as it viewed its allies.

A submarine with crew members.

The USS Illinois, a U.S. military nuclear submarine, was anchored in October 2016 in Croton, Connecticut.

Photo: Reuters / Michael McLaughlin

As a sign of the continuing crisis, the French and Americans crossed the buck throughout the day.

In the last 24-48 hours we have been in touch with our French colleagues to discuss AUKUS., Promised Anthony Blingen.

But France firmly denied, except to warn in the upstream, that it had not consulted.

We were not informed about this project before the first information was published in American and Australian newspapers., On Wednesday, a spokesman for the French embassy in Washington told AFP, Pascal Confourax.

A gala evening in Washington was canceled

In defiance of the US Secretary of State’s comforting words, French officials canceled an evening scheduled for Friday at the French ambassador’s residence in the US capital. The reception was to celebrate the anniversary of a decisive naval battle in the United States War of Independence, which ended with the victory of the French Navy over the British Navy on September 5, 1781.

This spectacular breakdown between Paris and Washington brings coolness, while Joe Biden should reveal progress in the Atlantic relationship after four years of Trumpist atrocities.

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Of course we have a little diplomatic crisis at the tableAnne Cecil, an expert on US foreign policy at the University of Sorbonne in Paris, summarizes.

Calls for the presence of its European allies (military) in the Indo-Pacific region, while the United States establishes itself as the number one competitor in the sale of French submarines., She summed up.

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