News Desk: Angered by the formation of a new tripartite security alliance in the Indo-Pacific region, France has summoned its ambassadors from the United States and Australia.
The “exceptional decision” was taken in light of the “exceptional importance” of the situation, the French foreign minister said.
The sending of ambassadors from allied countries is very rare; This is the first time France has summoned an ambassador from the United States, according to the New York Times.
This is probably the first time that the French ambassador has been summoned from Australia, says the BBC.
The United Kingdom is also part of the newly formed Akas alliance with the United States and Australia. The new security alliance is aimed at curbing Beijing’s growing influence in the South China Sea.
Officials in the United States and the United Kingdom say they will provide technology to build nuclear-powered submarines to alliance partner Australia under a security agreement. They believe the move will play an effective role in countering the Chinese threat.
The move by Washington and London has angered China as well as France. The new security deal has scrapped a multi-billion dollar Australian submarine deal with France.
Reacting angrily, the French foreign minister said, “The United States and the United Kingdom have acted like a knife in France’s back.”
“Such a cruel, one-sided, and hasty decision reminds me of Trump,” he said, noting that US President Joe Biden was behaving like his predecessor, Donald Trump.
On Wednesday, Biden, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Boris Johnson, and the Prime Minister of Australia Scott Morrison announced the tripartite alliance. Just hours earlier, France had been informed of the new alliance.
In a statement on Friday, French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said ambassadors from the two countries had been summoned at the request of President Emmanuel Macron.
A White House official said the Biden administration hoped the two countries would work together to resolve their differences in the coming days, despite regretting France’s move.
