Pact Sees Australia and France Sure up Western Pacific Defence Alliance

Published on December 5, 2023

France’s military ambition to strengthen its presence in the Indo-Pacific has seen Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna meet with her Australian counterpart Penny Wong to hammer out an agreement of cooperation. Australian service personnel receive increased access to French Defence facilities and inclusion in complex military drills in the Western Pacific. The pact will also thaw frosty relations between the two countries, which were at odds after the former Liberal government’s 2021 decision to abandon a diesel-powered submarine-supply contract with France, in favour of a deal with AUKUS partners the United States and United Kingdom. French President Emmanuel Macron said at the time “I don’t think, I know,” when asked if former Prime Minister Scott Morrison had deliberately misled him over withdrawing from the $90 billion (US$60 billion) submarine contract....

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