France recalls ambassadors to Australia, US in submarine row

There are fears France is preparing to deal another big blow to Australia, as the extent of the fury over the axed submarine deal becomes clear.

French President Emmanuel Macron with Prime Minister Scott Morrison in June, 2021. Picture: Adam Taylor/PMO

There are fears France could deal another big blow to Australia, as the extent of the country’s fury over the scrapping of a submarine contract becomes clear.

French President Emmanuel Macron recalled its ambassadors to the United States and Australia on Friday after Canberra ditched a deal to buy French submarines in favour of US vessels, Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said.

Le Drian said in a statement that the decision was made to “immediately” recall the two French ambassadors due to “the exceptional seriousness of the announcements made on September 15 by Australia and the United States.”

The abandonment of the ocean-class submarine project that Australia and France had been working on since 2016 constituted “unacceptable behaviour among allies and partners,” the Minister said.

“Their consequences affect the very concept we have of our alliances, our partnerships, and the importance of the Indo-Pacific for Europe”.

There are now concerns that future trade deals and military ties between France and Australia could be at risk, with Le Drian telling The Sydney Morning Herald that Australia had engaged in “lies and treason” behind France’s back for more than 18 months.

President Emmanuel Macron recalled his ambassador to Australia after the scrapping of the submarine deal. Picture: Adam Taylor/PMO

He said the “international breach of trust” meant high level consultations were now needed.

“For us clearly, such a decision announced without any prior consultation – not just a phone call, but real consultation due to the scope of the consequences – marks a real breach of trust,” Le Drian told the publication.

A spokesperson for Australia’s Foreign Minister Marise Payne said the government understood France’s “deep disappointment” with their decision to end the deal.

“We note with regret France’s decision to recall its Ambassador to Australia for consultations following the decision on the Attack Class project,” a spokesperson told news.com.au.

“Australia understands France’s deep disappointment with our decision, which was taken in accordance with our clear and communicated national security interests.

“Australia values its relationship with France, which is an important partner and a vital contributor to stability, particularly in the Indo-Pacific. This will not change.

“We look forward to engaging with France again on our many issues of shared interest, based on shared values.”

US President Joe Biden announced the new Australia-US-Britain defence alliance on Wednesday, extending US nuclear submarine technology to Australia as well as cyber defence, applied artificial intelligence and undersea capabilities.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson with Prime Minister Scott Morrison and US President Joe Biden. Picture: Adam Taylor/PMO

The pact is widely seen as aimed at countering the rise of China. The move infuriated France, which lost a contract to supply conventional submarines to Australia that was worth AU$50 billion (31 billion euros, $36.5 billion) when signed in 2016.

The French ambassador recalls from the United States and Australia, key allies of France, are unprecedented.

France has made no effort to disguise its fury and on Thursday accused Australia of back-stabbing and Washington of Donald Trump-era behaviour over the submarines deal.

“It’s really a stab in the back,” Le Drian said Thursday. “We had established a relationship of trust with Australia, this trust has been betrayed”.

France has also called off a gala at its ambassador’s house in Washington scheduled for Friday.

The event was supposed to celebrate the anniversary of a decisive naval battle in the American Revolution, in which France played a key role.

US ‘REGRET’ OVER FRANCE’S DECISION

The White House on Friday expressed “regret” over the recall of France’s ambassador, but said that the United States would work to resolve the diplomatic row.

“We regret that they have taken this step, we will continue to be engaged in the coming days to resolve our differences, as we have done at other points over the course of our long alliance,” a White House official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

‘EXTREMELY IRRESPONSIBLE’

Australia earlier shrugged off Chinese anger over its decision to acquire US nuclear-powered submarines, while vowing to defend the rule of law in airspace and waters where Beijing has staked hotly contested claims.

Beijing described the new alliance as an “extremely irresponsible” threat to regional stability, questioning Australia’s commitment to nuclear non-proliferation and warning the Western allies that they risked “shooting themselves in the foot”.

China has its own “very substantive program of nuclear submarine building”, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison argued Friday in an interview with radio station 2GB.

Mr Morrison has shrugged off criticism from Beijing over the nuclear submarine deal. Picture: Newswire/Gary Ramage

China claims almost all of the resource-rich South China Sea, through which trillions of dollars in shipping trade passes annually, rejecting competing claims from Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam.

Beijing has been accused of deploying a range of military hardware including anti-ship missiles and surface-to-air missiles there, and ignored a 2016 international tribunal decision that declared its historical claim over most of the waters to be without basis.

France’s European Affairs Minister Clement Beaune said Friday that Paris was unable to trust Canberra in ongoing European Union trade deal talks following the decision, before the ambassadors were recalled.

Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne, in Washington, said she understood the “disappointment” in Paris and hoped to work with France to ensure it understands “the value we place on the bilateral relationship and the work that we want to continue to do together”.

– AFP

Originally published as France recalls ambassadors to Australia, US in submarine row