With the signing of a new deal for increased military cooperation in the Pacific, Australia and France have taken another significant step toward healing from the diplomatic crisis around the AUKUS.
In the region, where France has several overseas territories, Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong and her French counterpart Catherine Colonna today announced an agreement for reciprocal access to military facilities.
The accord is the most recent reduction in tensions brought about by Australia’s decision to leave a multibillion-dollar submarine deal with France and join the AUKUS pact. Specifics of the agreement were still being worked out between the defense ministers of the two nations during a summit in New Caledonia.
After a series of meetings with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, French President Emmanuel Macron put the relationship on a stronger foundation, accusing former Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison of lying about the accord and withdrawing ambassadors from Canberra.
Wong and Colonna were eager to emphasize the significance of the most recent development.
Colonna stated today, “I don’t know which one you prefer—we had to rebuild, reset, or use whatever word is appropriate when your prime minister visited Paris a few weeks after taking office.” Wong had indicated that “renew” would have been the wisest course of action.
“The kind of relationship we had prior to September 2021 should be renewed then.
“But further than that, to really build a new one.”
In addition to defense and security, initiatives for education, culture, and climate change action and resilience are included in the “roadmap” for Franco-Australian collaboration.
That would include, according to Colonna, a program in Indo-Pacific studies unmatched by anything France has created.
“France places a high priority on the Indo-Pacific. We belong to the Pacific region. We are resolved to intensify and strengthen our collaboration with regional partners, which naturally includes Australia, our top partner in the region,” she declared.
“And we need to do so in order to cope with global challenges, and also to preserve the rules-based order that we cherish and can see sometimes shaken.” Wong reiterated how significant France is to the area.
“In the Pacific, France is a powerful nation. It is both a multilateral and a power in Europe, the speaker stated.
Furthermore, Australia values this collaboration greatly. Our collaboration is long-lasting, modern, and forward-thinking, and we work together to tackle common difficulties.”
As the US increases its high-tech military cooperation with Australia and the UK, the AUKUS agreement is developing independently.
At the US military’s defense technology base in Silicon Valley on Friday, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin met with defense chiefs from Australia and the UK to negotiate a new agreement to boost technology cooperation and information exchange.
