UK Defense Minister Ben Wallace said on Thursday that the UK had no intention to antagonize the French with the new security pact signed with the US and Australia and which saw Canberra scrapping a multi-million-dollar submarine contract with the French military industrial complex
LONDON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 16th September, 2021) UK Defense Minister Ben Wallace said on Thursday that the UK had no intention to antagonize the French with the new security pact signed with the US and Australia and which saw Canberra scrapping a multi-million-dollar submarine contract with the French military industrial complex.
"We have no intention of doing anything to antagonise the French. The French are some of our closest military allies in Europe, we're sizable and comparable forces and we do things together," Wallace told Sky news broadcaster.
On Wednesday evening, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison together with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and US President Joe Biden announced the formation of the new AUKUS defense and security partnership, "which will protect and defend our shared interests in the Indo-Pacific."
The first initiative under the AUKUS alliance will be the creation of nuclear-powered submarine technology for the Royal Australian Navy, so the Australian government decided to abandon the $66-billion agreement reached with the French company of Naval Group for the construction of diesel-electric submarines.
Asked whether the new pact was to counter China�s influence in the Pacific region, Wallace said that "It will be directed at a lot of different threats."
Beijing has warned, however, that the Australia-UK-US defense alliance threatens stability in the region and provokes an arms race.
