Submarine contract turmoil continues: EU supports France, meeting between British and French defense ministers is cancelled
2021-09-21 10:16:51Source: China News Network
China News Service, September 21. According to comprehensive foreign media reports, recently, due to the formation of the Trilateral Alliance (AUKUS) between the United States, Britain and Australia, the large order of tens of billions of dollars in submarines between France and Australia was torn up. France has already expressed its cancellation. At the meeting with the British Defense Minister, the European Union has also spoken out and expressed its support for France.
France: Cancel the meeting between the British and French defense ministers!
Macron’s tough attitude is related to the general election?
According to reports, sources have revealed that French Defense Minister Parley has cancelled the meeting originally scheduled to be held this week in London with British Defense Minister Wallace.
According to reports, the cancellation of the meeting with Wallace was a decision made by Parley himself.
However, sources from the British Ministry of Defense said that they could not confirm or deny the news, only that the United Kingdom is continuing to hold meetings with the French side for dialogue.
The source said: “We continue to enjoy a strong and close defense cooperation relationship with France, because they are still a trusted ally of Britain, and we are continuing to cooperate with France in many equipment and combat areas.”
A few days ago, France had announced the recall of its ambassadors to the United States and Australia, and stated in a statement that the behavior of the United States and Australia was an “unacceptable behavior” among allies, and the consequences of doing so would fundamentally shake the cooperative relationship.
As for why France’s attitude this time is so tough, some media said that this may be related to the upcoming French presidential election in seven months.
Current polls show that Le Pen, the main opponent of French President Macron and the leader of the far-right National League, has a tendency to come from behind. Macron may need to take this to show his tough stance to domestic voters.
The EU speaks: backing France
Request for clarification from the U.S. and Australia
On the 20th, local time, European Commission President Von der Lein and European Council President Michelle successively voiced their support for France’s position and asked the United States and Australia to clarify the submarine incident.
Von Delane said that the actions of the United States, Britain and Australia are unacceptable. The EU needs to know what happened and why this happened. On the same day, Michelle stated that the US’s move lacked credibility and was difficult to understand. The EU asked the US for clarification.
In addition, during the general debate of the 76th UN General Assembly, diplomatic mediation on the incident was also in full swing. On the 20th local time, the European Union’s high-level foreign and security policy representative Borelli met with Australian Foreign Minister Payne.
After that, the EU’s 27 foreign ministers will hold a special meeting in New York, and the 27 countries are expected to issue a joint statement on the matter.
U.S. side: no intention to withdraw from the trilateral alliance
Biden and Macron will talk in the next few days
Although the French side reacted strongly, but on the 20th local time, the US White House spokesperson Psaki said that the United States will not withdraw from the trilateral alliance.
However, Psaki reiterated his “ally” relationship with France.
In response to the phone call between the US and French presidents, Psaki said that the White House is still working hard to arrange a conference call. According to previous reports, U.S. government spokesman Atal said on the 19th that the United States and France will have a presidential call in the next few days.
In addition, when asked whether the United States will “compensate” France for the economic losses caused by the cancellation of the contract, Psaki said, “The United States understands that France will lose hundreds of jobs, but this will not be the result of Biden and Mark. The point of Long Talk.”
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