French envoy to Australia: Deceitful submarine deal raises risks
The Hindu
Apart from the ruptured contract, France thinks the deal trampled longstanding alliances, and its interests in the Pacific — where it has 2 million citizens in French territories and 7,000 military troops — were ignored
France’s Ambassador to Australia says Australian officials lied to his face and raised the risk of confrontation in Asia by crafting a secret submarine deal with the United States and Britain that undermined trust in democratic alliances.
France is determined to protect its interests in the Indo-Pacific region, and to put “muscle” into Europe’s geopolitical strategy toward an increasingly assertive China, Ambassador Jean-Pierre Thebault said on October 8. He spoke in an interview with The Associated Press before heading back to his post in Canberra.
“The way you treat your allies does resonate in the region,” Mr. Thebault said in a gilded chamber inside the French Foreign Ministry, located on the banks of the Seine River in Paris. “The logic of confrontation is not a good one for the peace and stability of the region. We think that we should act otherwise.”
EU and Israel in war of words as ties nosedive ahead of Spain, Ireland recognizing Palestinian state
EU-Israel relations strained over Palestinian state recognition, with threats of sanctions and ICC involvement in conflict.