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Australia Retaliates In Submarine Row: "French Deal Not In Our Interest"

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<div class="ins_instory_dv_cont"><img alt="Australia Retaliates In Submarine Row: 'French Deal Not In Our Interest'" src="https://c.ndtvimg.com/2021-05/c7fj4j18_scott-morrison-afp_625x300_04_May_21.jpg" title="Australia Retaliates In Submarine Row: 'French Deal Not In Our Interest'" /></div>
Scott Morrison said he will never regret putting Australia's national interests first. (File)
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Sydney:
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said Sunday the French government would have known Canberra had "deep and grave concerns" about French submarines before the deal was torn up last week.
France is furious at Australia's decision to withdraw from a multibillion-dollar deal to build French submarines in favour of American nuclear-powered vessels, recalling its ambassadors from Canberra and Washington and accusing its allies of "lying" about their plans.
Morrison said he understood the French government's "disappointment" but said he had raised issues with the deal "some months ago", as had other Australian government ministers.
"I think they would have had every reason to know that we had deep and grave concerns that the capability being delivered by the Attack Class submarine was not going to meet our strategic interests and we made very clear that we would be making a decision based on our strategic national interest," he told a press conference in Sydney.
Morrison said it would have been "negligent" to proceed with the deal against intelligence and defence advice and that doing so would be counter to Australia's strategic interests.
"I don't regret the decision to put Australia's national interest first. Never will," he said.
Speaking to Sky News Australia earlier on Sunday, Defence Minister Peter Dutton said his government had been "upfront, open and honest" with France that it had concerns about the deal, which was over-budget and years behind schedule.
Dutton said he understood the "French upset" but added that "suggestions that the concerns haven't been flagged by the Australian government just defy, frankly, what's on the public record and certainly what was said publicly over a long period of time".
"The government has had those concerns, we've expressed them, and we want to work very closely with the French and we'll continue to do that into the future," he said.
Dutton said he had personally expressed those concerns to his French counterpart, Florence Parly, and highlighted Australia's "need to act in our national interest", which he said was acquiring the nuclear-powered submarines.
"And given the changing circumstances in the Indo-Pacific, not just now but over the coming years, we had to make a decision that was in our national interest and that's exactly what we've done," he added.
Canberra was unable to buy French nuclear-powered vessels because they require charging while the American submarines do not, making only the latter suitable for nuclear-free Australia, Dutton said.
With Australia's new submarine fleet not expected to be operational for decades, Dutton said the country may consider leasing or buying existing submarines from the United States or Britain in the interim.
Australia will get the nuclear-powered submarines as part of a new defence alliance announced with the United States and Britain on Wednesday, in a pact widely seen as aimed at countering the rise of China.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
 
 
source <a href="https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/australia-had-deep-grave-concerns-on-french-submarines-prime-minister-scott-morrison-2546003">https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/australia-had-deep-grave-concerns-on-french-submarines-prime-minister-scott-morrison-2546003</a>

news world Australia Retaliates In Submarine Row: "French Deal Not In Our Interest"

Scott Morrison said he will never regret putting Australia's national interests first. (File) Sydney: Australian Prime Minister Sco...

Vladimir Putin's Party Set To Retain Parliamentary Majority After Polls

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<div class="ins_instory_dv_cont"><img alt="Vladimir Putin's Party Set To Retain Parliamentary Majority After Polls" src="https://c.ndtvimg.com/2021-09/4rcn0a_russia-polls-1-650_625x300_19_September_21.jpg" title="Vladimir Putin's Party Set To Retain Parliamentary Majority After Polls" /></div>
Russian social media meanwhile was inundated with reports of ballot stuffing
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Moscow:
Russian President Vladimir Putin's party was set Sunday to retain a majority in parliament on the last day of three-day elections in which most Kremlin critics were barred from the ballot.
The vote comes in the wake of an unprecedented crackdown on the opposition this year, with Russian authorities jailing Putin's best-known domestic foe Alexei Navalny and banning his organisations as "extremist".
In the lead-up to this weekend's vote, all of his top allies were arrested or had fled the country, with anyone associated with his groups kept from running in the parliamentary and local polls scheduled to close at 8:00 pm Sunday.
"These essentially aren't elections. People in effect have no choice," 43-year-old businessman Vladimir Zakharov told AFP in Russia's second city Saint Petersburg.
The elections were also marred by claims of censorship and rampant ballot stuffing.
As voting kicked off Friday, Apple and Google caused an uproar among Russia's opposition after they removed Navalny's "Smart Voting" app, which showed supporters which candidate they should back to unseat Kremlin-aligned politicians.
Sources familiar with Google and Apple's decision told AFP the move was taken under pressure from Russian authorities, including threats to arrest the tech giants' local staff.
By late Friday, the popular Telegram messenger had also removed Navalny's "Smart Voting" bot, and on Saturday his team said Google was pressuring them to delete Google Docs with recommended candidates after a request from Russia's media regulator Roskomnadzor.
His team called the documents the last "remaining" tools supporting their election tactic and asked voters to take a screenshot of them in case they were removed.
'Putin celebrating victory'
Russian social media meanwhile was inundated with reports of ballot stuffing and military servicemen patrolling polling stations.
Critics also pointed to online voting, new limits on independent election observers and the polls being spread over three days as presenting opportunities for mass voting fraud.
As of Saturday afternoon, the independent Golos election monitor -- which authorities branded a "foreign agent" ahead of the polls -- had tracked more than 2,750 reports of voting violations.
Elections chief Ella Pamfilova said Saturday her commission had received 137 reports of voting "coercion".
Going into the lower house State Duma vote, Putin's United Russia party was polling at historical lows.
Recent surveys by state-run pollster VTsIOM showed fewer than 30 percent of Russians planning to vote for the party, down at least 10 percentage points in the weeks ahead of the last parliamentary election in 2016.
While 68-year-old Putin remains popular, United Russia has seen its support drop as living standards decline following years of economic stagnation.
But the ruling party is widely expected to retain its two-thirds majority in the lower house, allowing it to push through legislative changes without resistance.
In addition to United Russia, 13 more parties are running in the elections. They, however, are widely seen as token opposition doing the Kremlin's bidding.
On Saturday, Navalny ally Leonid Volkov said "Putin was celebrating a huge victory" after tech giants "caved under the Kremlin's blackmail" but still called on supporters to try to turn the Russian leader's jubilant mood into "mourning".
"In our battle between David and Goliath, we definitely still have the opportunity to launch the stone," he wrote on Telegram.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
 
 
source <a href="https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/vladimir-putins-party-set-to-retain-parliamentary-majority-after-polls-2545961">https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/vladimir-putins-party-set-to-retain-parliamentary-majority-after-polls-2545961</a>

news world Vladimir Putin's Party Set To Retain Parliamentary Majority After Polls

Russian social media meanwhile was inundated with reports of ballot stuffing Moscow: Russian President Vladimir Putin's party was s...

"Best Ride Of My Life": Pilot After World's 1st All-Civilian Space Trip

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<div class="ins_instory_dv_cont"><img alt="'Best Ride Of My Life': Pilot After World's 1st All-Civilian Space Trip" src="https://c.ndtvimg.com/2021-09/66a8takg_sian-proctor-spacetwitter650_625x300_19_September_21.jpg" title="'Best Ride Of My Life': Pilot After World's 1st All-Civilian Space Trip" /></div>
On her website, Sian Proctor says she was selected the pilot of the space mission in 2021. (File)
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Sian Proctor, the pilot of the world's first all-civilian space mission, just had the "best ride" of her life as she touched down following a three-day trip to Earth's orbit on board a SpaceX capsule.
The SpaceX capsule on Sunday successfully concluded the historic orbital mission with no professional astronauts on board. Proctor, 51, was the mission pilot alongside mission commander Jared Isaacman, a billionaire who financed the trip for the crew.
“Best ride of my life! Thank you @SpaceX and @elonmusk! @inspiration4x,” she tweeted after her touchdown, tagging SpaceX founder Elon Musk.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Best ride of my life! Thank you <a href="https://twitter.com/SpaceX?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SpaceX</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/elonmusk?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@elonmusk</a>! <a href="https://twitter.com/inspiration4x?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@inspiration4x</a><a href="https://t.co/kQFa9mo8GK">https://t.co/kQFa9mo8GK</a>
— Dr. Sian “Leo” Proctor (@DrSianProctor) <a href="https://twitter.com/DrSianProctor/status/1439404645349269504?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 19, 2021</a></blockquote>
“Nothing but #gratitude!! Thank you to everyone who helped make our mission a success and supported us through this historic journey,” she said retweeting an Inspiration4 video showing the four crewmembers inside the capsule.
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Nothing but <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/gratitude?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#gratitude</a>!! Thank you to everyone who helped make our mission a success and supported us through this historic journey. ????????????‍????????????????<a href="https://twitter.com/inspiration4x?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@inspiration4x</a><a href="https://twitter.com/SpaceX?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SpaceX</a><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Space2inspire?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Space2inspire</a><a href="https://t.co/W0PgPn6fpu">https://t.co/W0PgPn6fpu</a>
— Dr. Sian “Leo” Proctor (@DrSianProctor) <a href="https://twitter.com/DrSianProctor/status/1439405929120808960?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 19, 2021</a></blockquote>
In another tweet carrying a photo of her leaving the capsule, she said, “We did it!!”
On her website, Proctor says she was selected the pilot of the space mission in 2021.
"Before becoming an astronaut, I was an analog astronaut. Analog astronauts engage in a wide range of research such as human physiology, psychology, crew cohesion, exercise, and nutritional studies along with testing cutting-edge science, technology, & engineering applications," she says.
The Inspiration4 mission of sending first all-civilian crew to orbit also included Isaacman who had funded the trip aiming to make space a bit more accessible. The two other crew members were Hayley Arceneaux, a 29-year-old nurse, and Chris Sembroski, 42, a US Air Force veteran.
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<div class="ins_instory_dv_cont"><img alt="a74e0vso" class="lozad" src="https://c.ndtvimg.com/2021-09/a74e0vso_spacex-allcivilian-orbital-crew-retuens-to-earth-after-historic-missionsept-19_625x300_19_September_21.jpg" /></div>
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The SpaceX capsule splashed into the Atlantic Ocean at 2306 GMT, according to a video feed by the company, after it was slowed down by four large parachutes, reported news agency AFP. The capsule remained in the orbit for three days, circling the globe over 15 times each day, after its launch at 0002 GMT on Thursday.
"That was a heck of a ride for us, and we're just getting started," said Isaacman shortly after landing.
 
 
source <a href="https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/spacex-capsule-pilot-sian-proctor-back-on-earth-after-3-day-all-civilian-space-trip-call-it-best-ride-of-her-life-2545905">https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/spacex-capsule-pilot-sian-proctor-back-on-earth-after-3-day-all-civilian-space-trip-call-it-best-ride-of-her-life-2545905</a>

news world "Best Ride Of My Life": Pilot After World's 1st All-Civilian Space Trip

On her website, Sian Proctor says she was selected the pilot of the space mission in 2021. (File) Sian Proctor, the pilot of the world...

"Deliberate Mischaracterizations": Facebook On Wall Street Journal Allegations

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<div class="ins_instory_dv_cont"><img alt="'Deliberate Mischaracterizations': Facebook On Wall Street Journal Allegations" src="https://c.ndtvimg.com/2020-08/0psfrbvg_facebook-generic-reuters_625x300_21_August_20.jpg" title="'Deliberate Mischaracterizations': Facebook On Wall Street Journal Allegations" /></div>
The articles say that Facebook exempted high-profile users from some or all of its rules
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Facebook Inc on Saturday slammed a Wall Street Journal series of articles about the social media company's platform as containing "deliberate mischaracterizations" and said the articles "conferred egregiously false motives to Facebook's leadership and employees."
The Wall Street Journal, citing a review of internal company documents that included research reports, online employee discussions and drafts of presentations to senior management, said that although Facebook researchers have identified "the platform's ill effects," the company failed to fix them.
The Wall Street Journal articles say that Facebook exempted high-profile users from some or all of its rules, played down the negative effects on young users of its Instagram app, made changes to its algorithm that made the platform "angrier," and had a weak response to alarms raised by employees over how the platform is used in developing countries by human traffickers.
Nick Clegg, Facebook's vice president of global affairs, writing in a blog post, said the Wall Street Journal's stories "contained deliberate mischaracterizations of what we are trying to do, and conferred egregiously false motives to Facebook's leadership and employees."
Clegg called "just plain false" an allegation that "Facebook conducts research and then systematically and willfully ignores it if the findings are inconvenient for the company."
Facebook, Clegg said, understands the "significant responsibility that comes with operating a global platform" and takes it seriously, but "we fundamentally reject this mischaracterization of our work and impugning of the company's motives."
Clegg defended Facebook's handling of posts on the COVID-19 vaccine and said that the "intersection between social media and well-being" remains an evolving issue in the research community.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
 
 
source <a href="https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/facebook-on-wall-street-journal-allegations-deliberate-mischaracterizations-2545863">https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/facebook-on-wall-street-journal-allegations-deliberate-mischaracterizations-2545863</a>

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The articles say that Facebook exempted high-profile users from some or all of its rules Facebook Inc on Saturday slammed a Wall Street ...

US To Step Up Deportation Flights For Migrants Stranded At Texas Bridge

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<div class="ins_instory_dv_cont"><img alt="US To Step Up Deportation Flights For Migrants Stranded At Texas Bridge" src="https://c.ndtvimg.com/2021-09/719v4ff8_migrationtexas-bridge_625x300_19_September_21.jpg?im=FitAndFill=(600,400)" title="US To Step Up Deportation Flights For Migrants Stranded At Texas Bridge" /></div>
Thousands of people were seen under and around the Texas bridge
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Del Rio, United States:
The United States said Saturday it would ramp up deportation flights for thousands of migrants who flooded into the Texas border city of Del Rio, as authorities scramble to alleviate a burgeoning crisis for President Joe Biden's administration.
The migrants who poured into the city, many of them Haitian, were being held in an area controlled by US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) beneath the Del Rio International Bridge, which carries traffic across the Rio Grande river into Mexico.
Video footage showed thousands of people under and around the bridge and more walking across the river, clutching their belongings.
Del Rio Mayor Bruno Lozano told reporters there were over 14,000 migrants "waiting to be detained." He added that both local and federal authorities were dispatching personnel, buses and aircraft as part of the operation.
The port of entry at Del Rio has been temporarily closed, and traffic is being rerouted to relieve the bottlenecks that had formed at the bridge.
Homeland Security said it would "secure additional transportation to accelerate the pace and increase the capacity of removal flights to Haiti and other destinations in the hemisphere within the next 72 hours."
The statement also said the Biden administration was taking action to "reduce crowding and improve conditions for migrants on US soil," and working with "source and transit countries in the region."
Texas Republicans seized on the crisis to lash out at Biden.
Senator Ted Cruz blasted the president on Twitter, stating that: "Nobody who actually sees what's happening can think the inhumane Biden policies make sense."
Republican Congressman Tony Gonzales meanwhile tweeted that "we're seeing the situation rapidly deteriorate in real time."
"Border patrol agents are doing everything they can but it's clear they need more support and they need it NOW."
CBP has dispatched 400 additional personnel to "improve control of the area," the Department of Homeland Security said in a statement, unveiling its plans to contain the situation.
Border authorities have been overwhelmed by the number of migrants crossing from Mexico seeking admittance to the United States, as well as an influx of migrants from Afghanistan in the wake of the Taliban's takeover of that country.
Political pressure had mounted on Biden to address the issue of immigration, with both Republicans and his fellow Democrats calling for quick action.
The US government processed and mostly expelled more than 200,000 migrants at the border in both July and August, the highest numbers in more than a decade.
Influx of Haitians
Some said Biden's decision in late July -- after Haitian president Jovenel Moise's assassination -- to allow Haitians without US visas at the time to remain in the country offered an incentive for others to come.
"10,503 illegal aliens are under this bridge tonight because Joe Biden made a political decision to cancel deportation flights to Haiti," Cruz tweeted on Thursday.
But in Saturday's statement, the Department of Homeland Security said "regular expulsion and removal flights" were ongoing to Haiti, Mexico, Ecuador, and countries in Central America's Northern Triangle -- Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras.
The number of Haitians crossing the southwest border into the United States has been surging for months.
Many come from South America, where they may have migrated years ago, especially after the country's January 2010 earthquake.
CBP said the "majority of migrants" would be expelled under the government's Title 42 policy curtailing immigration due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
"Those who cannot be expelled under Title 42 and do not have a legal basis to remain will be placed in expedited removal proceedings," CBP said.
Biden promised a more humane approach to immigration as compared to his predecessor Donald Trump, but the veteran Democrat has fought to stem the tide of migrants crossing the border since he took office in January.
Most are sent back, but many families and almost all unaccompanied minors are permitted to stay.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
 
 
source <a href="https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/us-to-step-up-deportation-flights-for-migrants-stranded-at-texas-bridge-2545857">https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/us-to-step-up-deportation-flights-for-migrants-stranded-at-texas-bridge-2545857</a>

news world US To Step Up Deportation Flights For Migrants Stranded At Texas Bridge

Thousands of people were seen under and around the Texas bridge Del Rio, United States: The United States said Saturday it would ramp u...

Nuclear subs and a diplomatic blowup: The US-France clash, explained

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France recalled its ambassadors to the United States and Australia on Friday in protest of Australia’s decision to cancel a major defense deal in favor of a new one with the US and Britain.
The dramatic move caps a week of indignation for France, which <a href="https://www.politico.eu/article/france-slams-australia-us-e50b-submarine-deal/">described</a> the new US-UK-Australia deal as “a stab in the back” on Thursday, and represents a major diplomatic break between longtime allies.
It’s also the <a href="https://apnews.com/article/france-recalls-ambassadors-us-australia-submarines-0322cefb3783f9e90ee8f0c3a738717e">first time</a> that France has recalled its ambassador to the US, <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-09-17/france-recalls-u-s-australian-ambassadors-over-submarine-row">according to Bloomberg News</a>, and it comes after French officials <a href="https://thehill.com/policy/defense/572640-france-cancels-dc-gala-in-anger-over-biden-sub-deal-report">canceled</a> a Washington, DC, gala scheduled for Friday.
The new US-UK-Australia deal, which was <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/speeches-remarks/2021/09/15/remarks-by-president-biden-prime-minister-morrison-of-australia-and-prime-minister-johnson-of-the-united-kingdom-announcing-the-creation-of-aukus/">announced on Wednesday</a> by the leaders of the three countries, lays the groundwork for Australia to acquire at least eight nuclear submarines with support from the US and the UK. <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/speeches-remarks/2021/09/15/remarks-by-president-biden-prime-minister-morrison-of-australia-and-prime-minister-johnson-of-the-united-kingdom-announcing-the-creation-of-aukus/">According to Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison</a>, it also marks the “first major initiative” of a tripartite new security agreement between the countries under the acronym AUKUS (pronounced AWK-us, <a href="https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-business-china-australia-united-states-1b2e597918bc1c8dd1aab26ab32c9621">according to the AP</a>).
“This initiative is about making sure that each of us has a modern capability — the most modern capabilities we need — to maneuver and defend against rapidly evolving threats,” President Joe Biden said in Wednesday’s <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/speeches-remarks/2021/09/15/remarks-by-president-biden-prime-minister-morrison-of-australia-and-prime-minister-johnson-of-the-united-kingdom-announcing-the-creation-of-aukus/">joint announcement</a> with Morrison and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
The AUKUS submarine deal replaces a <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-security-france-australia/australia-made-huge-mistake-in-cancelling-submarine-deal-says-french-envoy-idUSKBN2GE06U">previous agreement</a> between France and Australia for France to deliver 12 non-nuclear submarines.
In a <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/17/world/europe/france-ambassador-recall-us-australia.html">Friday statement</a> announcing France’s decision to recall its ambassadors, French Foreign Affairs Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said that the move “is justified by the exceptional gravity of the announcements made on 15 September by Australia and the United States.”
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I am being recalled to Paris for consultations. This follows announcements directly affecting the vision we have of our alliances, of our partnerships and of the importance of the Indo-Pacific for Europe. <a href="https://t.co/ue2V1NUTpN">https://t.co/ue2V1NUTpN</a>
— Philippe Etienne (@Ph_Etienne) <a href="https://twitter.com/Ph_Etienne/status/1438973623784681472?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 17, 2021</a></blockquote>
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In public remarks this week, French officials, including Le Drian, have not held back their shock at Australia’s decision to turn to the US and the UK. “We had established a trusting relationship with Australia, and this trust was betrayed,” Le Drian said on Thursday, <a href="https://www.politico.eu/article/france-slams-australia-us-e50b-submarine-deal/">according to Politico</a>.
French Minister of the Armed Forces Florence Parly reserved particular disdain for the US, saying France is “clear-eyed as to how the United States treats its allies,” <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/france-hits-back-as-australia-dumps-submarine-deal/a-59197513">according to Deutsche Welle</a>.
Despite the UK’s smaller role in the negotiations — currently, the US <a href="https://breakingdefense.com/2021/09/in-surprise-move-us-uk-agree-to-share-nuclear-submarine-tech-with-australia/">shares its submarine technology with the UK alone</a>, necessitating Britain’s cooperation in the pact — Le Drian had harsh words for the Johnson government, too, saying it is “in a logic of permanent opportunism.”
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Regarding the United Kingdom, "recalling our Ambassador to London was not necessary because we already know that the British government is in a logic of permanent opportunism".
— Pierre Morcos (@morcos_pierre) <a href="https://twitter.com/morcos_pierre/status/1439293496762978305?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 18, 2021</a></blockquote>
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French President Emmanuel Macron’s decision to withdraw his country’s ambassadors to the US and Australia in response to the pact marks a surprising breakdown in France’s historically close relationship with the US — but Australia’s decision to look to the US for its submarine fleet is less surprising.
Specifically, China’s military buildup, and its quest for dominance in the South China Sea — a major trade route for Australia — made the French submarines obsolete before they were even delivered. Because the US-made submarines rely on nuclear power, they have a far greater range than conventional submarines, don’t require refueling, and have better stealth capabilities — meaning they can stay underwater for months at a time without being detected, Australian National University researcher AJ Mitchell explained in <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-do-nuclear-powered-submarines-work-a-nuclear-scientist-explains-168067">the Conversation</a> this week.
With the AUKUS pact, Australia will join six other nations — the US, UK, Russia, India, France, and China — in deploying nuclear submarines, assuming the deal goes forward as planned. Prior to this new alliance, the US had shared its submarine technology only with Britain.
In addition to the advantages of nuclear submarines, Australia’s previous deal with France — a <a href="https://apnews.com/article/europe-business-france-australia-united-states-dde9fd44e9d29c08f4cb42335635f193">$66 billion</a> submarine contract, <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-security-france-australia/australia-made-huge-mistake-in-cancelling-submarine-deal-says-french-envoy-idUSKBN2GE06U">finalized in 2016</a>, that would have provided Australia with 12 conventional, diesel-powered Barracuda submarines — has been rife with difficulties.
The deal with France was only canceled on Wednesday, just hours before Morrison announced the AUKUS agreement in a teleconference with Biden and Johnson, but it had already begun to unravel — falling behind schedule as costs nearly doubled — when Australia approached the US about acquiring its submarine technology shortly after Biden took office earlier this year.
In June, Australian Defense Minister Scott Moriarty signaled in a Senate hearing that the original deal was proving untenable, <a href="https://www.politico.eu/article/why-australia-wanted-out-of-its-french-sub-deal/">Politico reports</a>, and that Australia was pursuing other options should the pact fall apart.
On top of cost overruns and delays, there were other issues as well. Shortly after Australia and France reached the agreement in 2016, the French shipbuilder, then called DCNS, <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/182399f2-69be-11e6-a0b1-d87a9fea034f">revealed</a> it had been hacked and documents related to a separate Indian submarine project exposed. And while France’s submarine technology — conventional, diesel-powered attack vessels that could be switched to nuclear power — may have made sense when Australia’s relationship with China was less contentious, that relationship <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2021/07/china-australia-america/619544/">has soured recently</a> due to China’s aggressive foreign policy in the Pacific and elsewhere.
While issues with the Australia-France deal have long been apparent, neither the US nor the Australians discussed the shift with their French counterparts until just a few hours before Morrison, Johnson, and Biden announced the new alliance, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/17/us/politics/us-france-australia-betrayal.html">according to the New York Times</a>.
In fact, Australia and the US reportedly conspired to keep the developing deal from France, even as officials from both countries met with their French counterparts. Biden discussed the future of their alliance with Macron in June and Secretary of State Antony Blinken made no mention of the pact when he met with Le Drian that same month in Paris.
Australia also hid its plans from France when Morrison and Macron met in June, although Morrison says he did raise concerns about the viability of diesel-powered vessels, according to <a href="https://thehill.com/policy/international/572859-french-ambassador-australia-made-a-huge-mistake-cancelling-submarine">the Hill</a>. Australia’s defense and foreign ministers even met with their French counterparts <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/17/us/politics/us-france-australia-betrayal.html">late last month</a> and issued a joint statement about furthering their defense cooperation, specifically citing the submarine program.
But by that date, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/17/us/politics/us-france-australia-betrayal.html">according to the New York Times</a>, the AUKUS deal was all but signed. The news caught French officials off-guard, with French ambassador to Australia Jean-Pierre Thebault <a href="https://apnews.com/article/europe-business-france-australia-united-states-dde9fd44e9d29c08f4cb42335635f193">reportedly</a> learning of the new alliance when the news broke in the Australian press, and while Jake Sullivan, Biden’s national security adviser, did discuss the decision with French ambassador Philippe Etienne just before the official announcement, that did not stop France from recalling Etienne to Paris for consultations.
In addition to diplomatic issues, France’s disappointment in the dissolution of its original submarine deal has a financial component.
Indeed, the scuttled <a href="https://apnews.com/article/europe-business-france-australia-united-states-dde9fd44e9d29c08f4cb42335635f193">$66 billion deal</a> was billed as the “<a href="https://apnews.com/article/europe-business-france-australia-united-states-dde9fd44e9d29c08f4cb42335635f193">contract of the century</a>” in France, and Parly noted Thursday that the French government <a href="https://www.reuters.com/business/france-help-limit-financial-hit-naval-group-cancelled-australia-deal-2021-09-16/">won’t rule out asking Australia for compensation</a>.
The now-defunct deal also intersects with France’s long-term foreign policy goals.
Macron has long sought to establish what he calls “strategic autonomy” for the European Union, asking members of the bloc to increase their military spending and establish a stronger political relationship with NATO. In February, Macron <a href="https://news.usni.org/2021/02/08/french-president-macron-calls-for-european-strategic-autonomy">emphasized</a> at an Atlantic Council forum that “the EU is a credible player and one at a relevant level.
The dissolution of the French-Australian defense deal prevents Macron from flexing the country’s — and the bloc’s — security and political muscles in the Indo-Pacific.
That doesn’t mean France’s outrage this week augurs a major shift for the country going forward, however.
As Daniel Baer, senior fellow at the Carnegie Institute for International Peace, <a href="https://foreignpolicy.com/2021/09/17/aukus-france-submarines-australia/">points out in Foreign Policy</a>, “For the French—or anyone else—to spin a substantial commercial loss into a paradigm-busting strategic reorientation is a misinterpretation of the meaning of the pact, the main strategic focus of which is, after all, the Indo-Pacific.”
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source <a href="https://www.vox.com/2021/9/18/22680875/france-us-australia-ambassadors-nuclear-subs-explained">https://www.vox.com/2021/9/18/22680875/france-us-australia-ambassadors-nuclear-subs-explained</a>

vox Nuclear subs and a diplomatic blowup: The US-France clash, explained

France recalled its ambassadors to the United States and Australia on Friday in protest of Australia’s decision to cancel a major defense d...