By Ania Nussbaum,
France removed Australia from its list of key partners in the Indo-Pacific region as tensions between the two countries linger five months after the AUKUS submarine debacle.
A decision by the government in Canberra to abandon a multibillion-dollar submarine contract with France in favour of American technology and a new security pact with the US and Britain was viewed by President Emmanuel Macron as a betrayal, and sparked a diplomatic row.
The shift was announced in September without “prior consultation or warning” and “led to a re-evaluation of the past strategic partnership,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Paris said in the latest version of its official “France’s Indo-Pacific strategy” document.
Also read: After AUKUS, India, France agree to find new ways to ensure rules-based order in Indo-Pacific region
“France will pursue bilateral cooperation with Australia on case-by-case basis,” it said in the document, which was handed out during a one-day Indo-Pacific summit in Paris on Tuesday.
France, a resident power in the Indo-Pacific, has said a degree of trust has been restored with the US but not with Australia.
Macron has accused Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison of deceiving him about his intentions, an allegation which Morrison’s government denied.
After the submarine snub, Macron began boosting geopolitical partnerships with other powers in the region like India. French territories in the Indo-Pacific are home to 1.6 million of its citizens.
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