France has dumped Australia from its list of close “strategic partners” after a row over a side-deal with the UK and US.
In an updated version of its official Indo-Pacific strategy the European country said it would now cooperate with Australia on a “case-by-case basis”.
The move comes after Australia and the United Kingdom announced the new trilateral AUKUS agreement with the US in September last year.
Under the deal, the UK and US will help Australia acquire nuclear-powered submarines and cooperate on other security matters such as cybersecurity.
French foreign minister Jean-Yves Le Drian at the time called the pact a “stab in the back”.
France had been due to help Australia build 12 diesel-powered submarines of its own, under a previous £27 billion pound agreement, which will now not go ahead because of the AUKUS deal.
In its new regional strategy, updated in February 2022, the French foreign ministry now lists Australia under “other bi-lateral partnerships” instead of a strategic partner.
“Australia’s decision in September 2021, without prior consultation or warning, to break off the partnership of trust with France that included the Future Submarine Program (FSP), has led to a re‐evaluation of the past strategic partnership [between] the two countries,” the French government explains.
“France will pursue bilateral cooperation with Australia on a case‐by‐case basis, according to its national interests and those of regional partners.
“France intends to maintain close relations with the United States, an ally and major player in the Indo‐Pacific, and to strengthen coordination, including on issues raised by the announcement of the AUKUS agreement.”
Boris Johnson had previously defended the deal from French criticism and said it was not “exclusionary” or “divisive” even though it excluded France.
“This is just the way of the US, the UK and Australia of sharing certain technologies because that is the sensible thing to do in the world in which we find ourselves,” he said at the time.
He also later said that Australia should “prenez un grip [get a grip] about all this and donnez-moi un break [give me a break]”.
