Australia's new government announced on Saturday that it has reached a $583 million settlement over a controversial decision last year to scrap a deal to buy submarines from France's Naval group, a move Canberra hopes will help settle a row between the two countries.
Last year, Australia canceled an order worth billions of dollars to buy submarines from the Naval group of warships, opting instead for an alternative deal with the United States and Britain, which angered Paris and caused an unprecedented diplomatic crisis.
The new agreement brings down the curtain on a bitter dispute that has undermined relations between Canberra and Paris for nearly a year. In September 2021, then Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison terminated without warning the French contract that the two parties had been negotiating for years.
He also surprised Paris by announcing a secret contract to buy nuclear-powered US and British submarines, a shift for a country whose domestic nuclear capabilities are minimal.
The decision angered French President Emmanuel Macron, who publicly accused Morrison of treason, and there was a stalemate in the relationship between the two parties until last May, when Anthony Albanese (centre left) was elected prime minister.
Today, Saturday, Albanese said - at a press conference in Sydney - that his government had reached a "fair and equitable settlement" with the Naval Group.
Last year, Canberra canceled an order to purchase a new fleet of conventional submarines from Naval Group, after the previous government signed a tripartite security partnership with Washington and London related to a fleet of nuclear-powered submarines with American and British technology.
Albanese said the settlement would allow Australia to improve its relationship with France.
And he added - in a separate statement - "Given the gravity of the challenges we face in the region and the world alike, it is important that Australia and France unite once again to defend our common principles and interests."
"We deeply respect France's role and active participation in the Indo-Pacific region," he added, noting that he was looking forward to receiving an invitation from French President Emmanuel Macron to visit Paris.
It is noteworthy that Australia, the United States, France and partners of these countries had expressed concern about China's growing influence in the Pacific, a region that has traditionally been under their influence, and their concerns increased after Beijing and Solomon Island signed a security agreement earlier in the year.