Meeting on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly [UNGA] in New York, 58-year-old Secretary of State Antony Blinken said at a meeting with Association of Southeast Asian Nations [ASEAN] that he’ll soon release a new Indo-Pacific strategy. Blinken’s still dealing with France recalling its ambassadors from the U.S. and Australia over canceling $48 billion diesel-electric submarine deal last week, infuriating the French government. France’s 74-year-old Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian called the decision as ‘stab in the back,” referring to the U.S. and Australia. Australia’s 53-year-old Prime Minister Scott Morrison said he informed French President Emmanuel Macron at a June meeting in Paris that the deal was in trouble because France’s diesel-fired submarines could not provide the range needed to for long-distance surveillance needed under a new partnership with the U.S.
France was publicly humiliated before the U.N. General Assembly opened Sept 14 when Australia and the U.S. announced a new nuclear submarine deal, sharing nuclear technology with Australia who’s joined a mutual defense pact with the U.S., Japan and India. There’s been growing concerns since 2016 when the International Court of Justice and the Hague ruled that China violated the international rules of the seal building out military installations in the shallow Archipelago of the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea. China thumbed its nose at the ruling, leading to the new Indo-Pacific partnership, prompting Australia to opt for nuclear-powered submarines over France’s diesel-fired units. More recent incursion by China in the Taiwan Strait also prompted the U.S. to lead a new Indo-Pacific partnership to help contain China’s aggression in international waters in Southeast Asia.
Blinken said the U.S. would work with the 10-nation ASEAN bloc “this fall” that “builds on our shared vision for a free, open, interconnected, resilient and secure region,” serving notice to Bejing that the U.S. would not back away from the 2016 Hague ruling. France and the EU considers itself on the same page with the U.S. on its Indo-Pacific partnership but doesn’t make the necessary equipment needed for Australia to complete the mission, requiring nuclear-powered submarines. “It will reflect Southeast Asia’s importance to the Indo-Pacific region and the critical role that ASEAN plays in determining the region’s future,” Blinken said. Chinese President Xi Jinping is listening carefully to the U.S. plans and views the U.S. as a direct threat to China’s sovereignty. Since taking office Jan. 20, 78-year-old President Joe Biden and Blinken have done almost everything to antagonize Beijing.
Biden and Blinken faced more criticism by the EU at U.N. over Australia canceling the French submarine deal. “More cooperation, more coordination, less fragmentation” was needed to confront China in the Indo-Pacific region said the EU’s foreign policy chief Josep Borrell. “Certainly, we were caught by surprise by this announcement,” Borrell said, referring to Australia canceling the submarine deal. But unlike the French narrative, Morrison said he was explicit with Macron in June that the deal would not go forward. Macron’s been suffering from low approval ratings as he faces reelection in 2022. Macron didn’t want his Cabinet—or the media—to hear anything negative before his reelection. Far-right opposition leader Marine Le Pen slammed Macron for complete incompetence, embarrassing France. Recalling the Australian and U.S. ambassadors went over the top.
France expects Australia and the U.S. to pony up for canceling the diesel-electric submarine deal, even if it doesn’t meet their national security interests. “We are allies, we talk and don’t hide elaborate different strategies. That’s why there is a crisis in confidence,” Le Drian said. “So all that needs clarifications and explanations. It may take time,” said Le Drian. Le Drian knows that Australia opting for nuclear-powered subs doesn’t change any over-arching strategy. Australia simply needs the right equipment to do the job of traveling long distances to patrol the South Pacific and South China Sea. EU Council President Charles Michel, who’s also French, found Australia’s decision inexplicable. “Why?” Because with new Joe Biden administration, America is back. This was a historic message sent by this new administration and now we have questions,” Michel said.
Michel didn’t hesitate to hold Biden’s feet to the fire, after promising the EU that “America is back,” meaning from the “America First” foreign policy of former President Donald Trump. “What does it mean—America is back? Is America back in America or somewhere else? We don’t know,” Michel told reporters, rubbing it in. France was blindsided because Macro kept the dirty secret that Australia cancelled the diesel-powered sub deal because it didn’t meet their national security needs. Michel said he can’t figure it out. Well, what more does he need to know that France doesn’t produce nuclear-powered submarines? No nation should be forced to buy outmoded military equipment, regardless of past deals or current relationships. France ‘s complete overreactions speaks volumes about French domestic politics but says nothing about whether “America’s back.”
