According to French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian, the dispute over the failed submarine deal between France and Australia is a burden on the future of NATO.
The incident had an impact on the definition of the new strategic concept of the defense alliance, said Le Drian on Saturday the broadcaster France 2. He accused France's allies of “lying” and “duplicity” as well as a serious breach of trust and “disregard”, which was a “serious one Crisis ”.
On Friday evening, France called its ambassadors from Washington and Canberra back for consultations in an extraordinary diplomatic move between allies. The USA, Great Britain and Australia had previously announced the establishment of a new security alliance for the Indo-Pacific, whereupon Australia broke a multi-billion dollar submarine deal with France. Instead, Australia wants to purchase US nuclear submarines.
The United States and Australia are trying to appease the angry French government over a billion dollar arms deal. "France is an important partner and our oldest ally, and we value our relationship very much," the US State Department said after France called its ambassadors to the US and Australia back for consultations. It is hoped to be able to continue the discussion on the subject in the coming days.
The French ambassador to Australia, Jean-Pierre Thebault, was very upset on the Saturday before his departure: "I think a big mistake has been made here, a very, very bad approach to a partnership," he told journalists.
"It wasn't about a contract, it was about a partnership that should be based on trust, mutual understanding and openness."
A spokesman for the Australian Foreign Ministry also regretted the ambassador's departure: “Australia values its relations with France.
We look forward to speaking with France again about our many common issues and interests, which are based on common values. "
Meanwhile, Malaysia expressed concern about the arms treaty, according to which Australia will now build eight nuclear-powered submarines from France instead of conventional submarines. "This will provoke other powers to act more aggressively in the region, especially in the South China Sea," said the prime minister's office with regard to China. China is also trying to expand its influence in the region by creating military bases. For its part, the US is trying to curb China's influence and strengthen its own position.
On Thursday, Australia, Great Britain and the USA announced an Indo-Pacific security pact. Among other things, it provides for Australia to build nuclear-powered submarines using technology from the two partners. This meant that the delivery of conventional submarines with a volume of 40 billion dollars agreed with the French shipping company Naval Group in 2016 became obsolete.