Chinese officials accused the U.S., U.K., and Australia of a “Cold War mentality.”
Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said it “seriously undermines regional peace and stability and intensifies the arms race.”
France’s Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian called the deal “a stab in the back,” after it lost its deal with Australia to build 12 submarines. He said President Joe Biden was acting like his predecessor Donald Trump.
During a press conference with Australian counterparts, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken called France “a vital partner” and welcomes European countries to continue to play a role in the region.
U.S. Secretary of Defense Llyod Austin said that while Aukus is “not aimed” at anyone specific, it will create an “integrated deterrence in the region” to allow the U.S. military to more effectively work with its allies in their shared security interests in the Indo-Pacific.
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The statement said the U.S. plan to supply Australia with nuclear-powered submarines is a “regrettable decision” that is “contrary to the letter and the spirit of the cooperation which prevailed between France and Australia.”
“The American choice which leads to the removal of an ally and a European partner like France from a structuring partnership with Australia, at a time when we are facing unprecedented challenges in the Indo-Pacific region, whether in terms of our values or on respect for multilateralism based on the rule of law marks an absence of coherence that France can only observe and regret,” the statement said.
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki told reporters in a press briefing Thursday that the U.S. values its relationship and “long-standing partnership” with France.
“We don’t see this from our end as a regional divide,” she said.
During a press briefing with Australian counterparts, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken called France “a vital partner on this and other things.”
“We strongly welcome European countries to play an important role in the Indo-Pacific,” he said, expressing interest to cooperate with NATO and the EU.
Blinken noted that the U.S. discussed the AUKUS partnership with France before and after it was announced.
She said Australia “places great importance on the relationship” with China and says officials have sent an “open invitation” to Chinese President Xi Jinping and her counterpart.
She said dialogue is helpful to air out differences and concerns and believes that “any mature actors would consider that in a constructive way.”
Rather, it is “intent to help improve trilateral cooperation and capabilities across the board, Austin said.
Austin’s Australian counterpart Peter Dutton noted China’s criticized the deal, claiming it will make the region less safe and less stable.
Dutton said this “is not the first time we’ve seen an outburst from China” and emphasized that Australia is a proud democracy in the region that works to “ensure enduring peace” in the Indo-Pacific.
“This collaboration makes it a safer region and no amount of propaganda can dismiss the facts,” he said.
He said that efforts to help Australia acquire nuclear-power submarines will “improve Australian navy’s reach and defensive capabilities.”
This new deal will also contribute to what Austin called “integrated deterrence in the region” to allow the U.S. military to more effectively work with its allies in their shared security interests.
Such interests include China’s move to intimidate other countries and its “economic coercion” against Australia.
Austin said “we will remain clear-eyed” on China’s efforts to destabilize the international order.
“We welcome European countries playing an important role in the Indo Pacific,” Blinken said, “France in particular is a vital partner on this, and so many other issues”
Blinken was joined by Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne, Australian Defense Minister Peter Dutton and U.S. Defense Secretary Llyod Austin.
EU Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee David McAllister said the new strategy confirmed the EU’s “increasing relevance” in the region.
“It should be about enhancing our geopolitical and geo-economic capacity to act in this region, based on a pragmatic, flexible and inclusive approach,” he said in a tweet.
He added that the prosperity and security of the EU is linked to its ability to “effectively represent our interests in this highly dynamic region.”
The United States partnership with Britain and Australia to secure the Indo-Pacific and supply Australia with nuclear-powered submarines. This deal scrapped a $40 billion deal France designed with Australia.
“This brutal, unilateral and unpredictable decision reminds me a lot of what Mr Trump used to do,” Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian told franceinfo radio. “I am angry and bitter. This isn’t done between allies.”
Biden said Wednesday that France remained a “key partner in the Indo-Pacific zone.”
He said the two nations will “continue to stand together and defend the principles we share,” including supporting a free open Indo-Pacific and promoting economic prosperity in the region.
“We were not informed, we were not aware,” High Representative of the European Union Josep Borrell told reporters Thursday.
He added that this deal makes the EU’s Indo-Pacific strategy even more important.
“The world’s centre of gravity is moving towards the Indo Pacific, both in geo-economic and geo-political terms,” Borrel said in a statement. “The futures of the EU and the Indo-Pacific are interlinked. Our engagement aims at maintaining a free and open Indo-Pacific for all, while building strong and lasting partnerships to cooperate on matters from the green transition, ocean governance or the digital agenda to security and defense.”
“If we look at what the United States and Australia are doing together – bilaterally, regionally, globally – this partnership has never been stronger,” Blinken told reporters Wednesday.
Blinken met with Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne Wednesday to mark the 70th anniversary of signing the ANZUS Treaty. The pair discuss their “shared commitment to ensuring the peace and prosperity of the Indo-Pacific region, Blinken said in a tweet.
Payne said the meeting sent “a strong message about the warmth, the depth, the breadth of the Australia-U.S. alliance and the work that we’re doing together to deal with some of the most contemporary challenges.”
Payne and Blinken were joined by U.S. Secretary of Defense Llyod Austin and his Australian counterpart Peter Dutton Thursday for the 31st Australian-United State Ministerial Consultation (AUSMIN) to discuss strategic foreign and defensive policy.
IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said the three countries aim to maintain “the strength of both the nuclear non-proliferation regime and Australia’s exemplary non-proliferation credentials” and promised to be “engaging with the IAEA throughout the coming months.”
“The IAEA will engage with them on this matter in line with its statutory mandate, and in accordance with their respective safeguards agreements with the Agency,” Grossi said in a statement.
He added that a strong European Union Indio-Pacific strategy is “needed more than ever.”
“The project will create hundreds of high-skilled jobs across the U.K.,” Johnson said in front of Parliament Thursday, “reinforcing our industrial base and our national scientific expertise.”
He said the deal will provide a new opportunity to “strengthen Britain’s position as a science and tech superpower” and will reduce the cost next generation of nuclear submarines.
The ministers added that France is the “only European nation present in the Indo-Pacific with nearly two million citizens and more than 7,000 military personnel.”
The frigate left Germany last month for a tour of the Indo-Pacific region as part of the German government’s effort to increase its activities there, alongside its allies.
“After some consideration, China has decided that it does not want a port visit from the German frigate Bayern,” said Maria Adebahr, a German Foreign Ministry spokeswoman. “We have taken note of that.”
Part of Germany’s recently-announced new Indo-Pacific strategy includes an emphasis on free passage for ships, particularly through the Strait of Malacca that links the South China Sea to the Indian Ocean.
French officials were notified yesterday afternoon that it would end its contract with state majority-owned DCNS to build 12 of the world’s largest conventional submarines. Australia has spent AU$2.4 billion ($1.8 billion) on the project since the French won the contract in 2016.
Morrison said the U.S. technology wasn’t an option open to Australia when the AU$56 billion ($43 billion) deal was struck in 2016.
The criticism came in the form of an article, where a government-backed analyst suggested military moves are perceived by Pyongyang official as defying Washington and Beijing’s precarious yet formative understanding of the status of the island-based Taipei government.
FULL STORY: Between Missile Launches, China Ally North Korea Lashes Out at U.S. Over Taiwan
The Republic of China (ROC) Air Force tasked combat air patrols and issued radio warnings to approaching People’s Liberation Army (PLA) warplanes, which were also tracked with surface-to-air missile systems as they entered the southwest corner of its air defense identification zone (ADIZ), Taiwan’s Defense Ministry said in a statement.
An ADIZ is a category of airspace that extends beyond a country’s territorial airspace, often used to request advanced identification of foreign civil and military aircraft.
FULL STORY: Taiwan Air Force Expels China Warplanes During Anti-landing Drills
Follow Newsweek’s liveblog throughout Thursday for all the latest reaction.
