"An Unacceptable Act"... France Strongly Condemns US, UK, and Australia

Three-Nation Security Alliance 'AUKUS' Launch Sparks French 'Anger'
Australia Cancels Submarine Deal Worth 77 Trillion Won with France Due to AUKUS Launch
French Foreign Minister: "Lies, Duplicity, Serious Breach of Trust, Contempt"

Jean-Yves Le Drian, French Minister of Foreign Affairs
[Photo by Reuters]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Suhwan] France, outraged at being betrayed during the launch of the security alliance 'AUKUS' between the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia, strongly criticized the three countries.

On the afternoon of the 18th (local time), Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian appeared on France 2 television and made sharp remarks far from diplomatic language, AFP reported.

Minister Le Drian said that in the process of Australia canceling the 77 trillion won submarine supply contract signed with France in 2016 due to the launch of AUKUS, there were "lies, duplicity, serious breaches of trust, and contempt."

He argued that the incident should be addressed when reconsidering strategy at the NATO summit to be held next year in Madrid, Spain.

Minister Le Drian explained that the reason for recalling his country's ambassadors to the United States and Australia for the first time in history was to "show how serious the crisis is and how displeased we are."

He pointed out that the British ambassador was not summoned because "we know the UK's endless opportunism, so there was no need to bring the British ambassador back to hear explanations," belittling the UK's role in the negotiations as insignificant.

Minister Le Drian stated the day before that the ambassadors of the two countries were recalled due to the "unprecedented seriousness of the announcement made by Australia and the United States on September 15, which was an unacceptable act among allies and partners."

Earlier, the United States and the United Kingdom announced that they would support Australia's development of nuclear submarines as part of forming a new tripartite security alliance in the Indo-Pacific region.

Accordingly, Australia decided to cancel the contract to purchase 12 diesel submarines from Naval Group, a defense company partially owned by the French government.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.