AUKUS submarine row: France recalls envoys to US, Australia; calls pact 'stab in the back'

France on Friday lambasted the UK, US and Australia for striking a new Indo-Pacific security alliance accusing the ally nations of a "stab in the back” as it immediately recalled its ambassadors to the US and Australia. A day earlier, Washington, Canberra and London announced the "AUKUS" partnership with Australia scrapping the $40 billion French-designed submarine deal with Paris for purchase of advanced US nuclear-powered submarines, causing a diplomatic row between the three nations. 

Condemning the ally nations of an “unacceptable behaviour” France President Emmanuel Macron said on September 17, that he made an exceptional decision of recalling the French ambassadors, French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian announced in a statement. Macron stressed the “gravity of the announcements on September 15 by Australia and the United States” behind his abrupt decision as the trilateral backlash intensified. 

"At the request of the President of the Republic, I decided to immediately recall to Paris our two ambassadors in the United States and in Australia for consultations," said Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian in an official statement issued on Sept. 17. 

Pact 'unilateral, brutal, unpredictable'

France’s unilateral move was to lodge a strong protest against the three nations for ending the multi-billion purchase of French conventional submarines in favour of the US subs. Blasting the anglophone countries for "a stab in the back," the French Foreign Minister called the deal “unilateral, brutal, unpredictable decision is very similar to what Mr Trump used to do.” In his remark on France Info radio on Thursday morning, LeDrian said that France was “angry” at the recent “AUKUS” pact, adding that this is “just not done between allies.”

Furthermore, he informed that Paris had struck the deal with Australia approximately two years ago and back then neither the US nor the UK was in any way involved in the tender process. "We had established a relationship of trust with Australia and this trust has been betrayed," Le Drian said. "This is not the end of the story.”

US President Joe Biden had said during a joint press conference that the three leaders "all recognise the imperative of ensuring peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific over the long term. We need to be able to address both the current strategic environment in the region and how it may evolve," he went on to add. 

"This exceptional decision is justified by the exceptional seriousness of the announcements made on September 15 by Australia and the United States," Le Drian continued in his statement. 

He derided Australia, the US and the UK for ”unacceptable behaviour between allies and partners, the consequences of which affect the very conception that we have of our alliances, our partnerships and the importance of the Indo-Pacific for Europe.”

The security pact "AUKUS" was announced on Wednesday by the three countries to counter Beijing's belligerence, expansionists agendas and regional influence. The defence cooperation between the three countries has infuriated Paris. Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and US President Joe Biden said in a joint statement earlier that their partnership is "guided by our enduring ideals and shared commitment to the international rules-based order.”

France's Foreign Ministry said in a joint statement with the defence ministry that Australia's decision "is contrary to the letter and spirit of the cooperation that prevailed between France and Australia, based on a relationship of political trust as well as on the development of a very high-level defence industrial and technological base in Australia.” It added, "American choice to exclude a European ally and partner from a structuring partnership with Australia, at a time when we are facing unprecedented challenges in the Indo-Pacific region, whether in terms of our values or in terms of respect for multilateralism based on the rule of law, shows a lack of coherence that France can only note with regret."

"It is a decision contrary to the letter and the spirit of the cooperation which prevailed between France and Australia, based on a relationship of political trust as on the development of an industrial and technological base of defence of very high level in Australia," France said in a statement.