Margaux Baralon 8:39 a.m., September 17, 2021, modified at 8:43 a.m., September 17, 2021
On the night of Wednesday to Thursday, Australia canceled a contract worth more than 30 billion euros for the purchase of submarines from France, preferring to turn to the United States.
A about-face which, for the specialist Antoine Bondaz, sums up all the tensions at work in the Indo-Pacific zone.
INTERVIEW
It was an about-face that left Paris stunned, frustrated, bitter. On the night of Wednesday to Thursday, Australia canceled a contract worth more than 30 billion euros for the purchase of submarines from France. In the end, Canberra preferred to turn to an American proposal. Beyond the economic issues, this case illustrates above all a resurgence of tensions in the Indo-Pacific zone, as explained by Antoine Bondaz, researcher at the Foundation for Strategic Research (FRS), on Europe 1 on Friday.
The one who is also a teacher at Sciences Po recalls that Australia's change of footing cannot be explained by dissatisfaction with the submarines offered by the French, even if it was "known that the Australians had doubts about the contract ".
Canberra's choice is to "further strengthen the alliance with the United States".
"This submarine business is part of a much deeper rapprochement between Australia, the United States and the United Kingdom, with the launch of this famous 'Aukus' alliance."
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