Scott Morrison pushes back againt Joe Biden’s claim that submarine deal was ‘clumsy’

Scott Morrison maintains the White House was kept in the loop about Australia’s talks with France before he ripped up a $90bn submarine contract.

Scott Morrison maintains the White House was kept in the loop about Australia’s discussions with France before his decision to rip up a $90bn submarine contract sparked a diplomatic rift.

US President Joe Biden appeared to criticise the Prime Minister when he told his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron that the AUKUS defence pact was not handled “with a lot of grace” before it was announced last month.

Mr Biden said it was “clumsy” and that he was “under the impression that France had been informed long before that the deal was not going through, honest to God”.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison attends the G20 official welcome and chats with US President Joe Biden in Rome. Picture: Adam Taylor

Mr Morrison, speaking after he briefly shook hands with Mr Macron in Rome on Saturday, said his government had “worked closely” with the US and the UK and “kept them up to date … with where we were at in our various discussions with France”.

Asked about Mr Biden’s comments, Mr Morrison said: “I’ll leave his remarks to him.”

The Prime Minister said the submarine switch was “always a difficult decision” but that he did not “recoil from it at all”.

“Australia made the right decision in our interests to ensure we have the right submarine capability,” Mr Morrison said.

“There was never an easy way for us to get to a point where we had to disappoint a good friend and partner in France.”

He said his relationship with Mr Macron was “on the road back” and that he looked forward to seeing him during the remainder of the G20 summit in Rome and the forthcoming COP26 climate summit in Glasgow.

US President Joe Biden and French President Emmanuel Macron at the French Embassy to the Vatican in Rome on October 29, 2021. Picture: Ludovic Marin / AFP.

Mr Biden and Mr Macron appeared in good spirits at their meeting as the US President revealed he was “under the impression that France had been informed long before that the deal was not going through, honest to God”.

“What we did was clumsy,” the US President said.

“It was not done with a lot of grace. I was under the impression that certain things had happened that had not happened.”

Asked if he was satisfied that the US-France relationship had been repaired, Mr Macron said: “We clarified together what we had to clarify.”

“What really matters now is what we will do together in the coming weeks, the coming months, the coming years,” he said.

It is understood the Australian government did keep the Biden administration updated about its AUKUS plans prior to last month’s announcement, as well as how it was handling the issue with the French.

Mr Macron had earlier spoken to Scott Morrison for the first time since the AUKUS pact was unveiled last month.

He told the Prime Minister that Australia’s decision to dump its French contract “broke the relationship of trust between our two countries”.

Mr Morrison said he understood France’s “obvious disappointment”.

“We’ve started the way back, I think that’s a positive thing,” he said.

“Australia and France have so many shared interests … Our interests are shared in the Indo-Pacific, and the way you build back those relationships is you work together on the things that matter to us both.”

French President Emmanuel Macron (right) welcomes US President Joe Biden (left) before their meeting at the French Embassy to the Vatican in Rome on October 29, 2021. Picture: Ludovic Marin / AFP.

Mr Biden concurred, declaring France was an “extremely valued partner”.

“There’s too much we have done together, suffered together, celebrated together and value together for anything to be able to break this up,” he said.

“We’re at one of those inflection points in world history. Things are changing. Pieces of the board are moving.”

Mr Morrison will see Mr Macron at the G20 summit, although a face-to-face meeting between the pair is yet to be arranged.

Originally published as Scott Morrison pushes back againt Joe Biden’s claim that submarine deal was ‘clumsy’