French offer still stands

AUKUS subs deal risks nuclear conflict: Macron

FRENCH President Emmanuel Macron says Australia’s decision to acquire nuclear submarines risks provoking a “nuclear confrontation” with China, and strips the nation of its ability to independently defend itself.

Speaking after arriving in Bangkok for the APEC leaders forum on Thursday, Mr Macron said France’s deal with Australia to build conventional submarines was “not confrontational” for China, and would have strengthened Australia’s “freedom and sovereignty”.

But he said Scott Morrison’s decision to cancel the Frenchdesigned Attack-class submarines had undermined Australia’s sovereignty and its security.

“We were helping and accompanying Australia in building a submarine fleet inhouse, an industrial co-operation,” Mr Macron said.

“So it was both industrial co-operation and giving sovereignty to Australia, because they will maintain the submarines themselves, and it is not confrontational to China because they are not nuclearpowered submarines.

“But the choice made by (former) prime minister Morrison was the opposite, re-entering into nuclear confrontation, making himself completely dependent by deciding to equip themselves (with a) submarine fleet that the Australians are incapable of producing and maintaining in-house.”

He said France’s offer to build conventional submarines for Australia was still on the table, but there was no appetite in Canberra to pursue such an option.

Defence Minister Richard Marles said France was an important strategic partner for Australia, but the government was determined to make the AUKUS deal work.

“We’re focused on the process that we are engaged in with the United Kingdom and the United States in determining what is the optimal pathway forward … in relation to our future nuclear submarines and France is aware of that,” he told Sky News.

Mr Macron’s comments come just over a year after he accused Mr Morrison of lying to him by failing to tell him earlier that Australia planned to cancel its contact with France’s Naval Group to build the fleet of Attack-class submarines.

Earlier this week, Anthony Albanese told new British counterpart Rishi Sunak that the AUKUS partnership was central to Australia’s security, seeking to lock in the UK’s support for the pact.

The Prime Minister sat down for the first time with Mr Sunak on the margins of the G20 Summit in Bali, briefing him on Australia’s classified nuclear submarine plans and the government’s latest thinking on how it will fill a decadeplus “capability gap” before the boats arrive.

The UK is looking at what it will get out of the deal, given mounting indications that Australia is likely to select the US Virginia-class nuclear submarine over Britain’s Astute, unless all three countries can agree on a common design.

Responding to Mr Macron’s criticism of Mr Morrison, Mr Albanese said the French leader was “entitled to his views”.

Mr Albanese said Australia had re-established a friendly relationship with France, and that Mr Macron had autonomy over his views.

“President Macron I was with last night,” Mr Albanese said. “We had a very friendly exchange, as we always do.”