To counter China’s growing assertiveness in the Indo-Pacific region, the US, UK and Australia have signed a new trilateral security alliance. Hours before the signing, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison called up Prime Minister Narendra Modi to inform him about the pact that was going to be announced, according to sources.
Having unveiled the ambitious security initiative, US President Joe Biden, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, in a joint statement, said that the signing of this alliance will promote stability in the Indo-Pacific and support their shared values and interests.
The pact, termed AUKUS (Australia, UK and US), is expected to help Australia acquire nuclear-powered submarines in a bid to counter China’s growing power in the strategically vital region.
France however was not notified about the alliance and expressing its displeasure over the deal, called it a “stab in the back”. It is mostly irked because the AUKUS pact effectively puts the curtains on the 90-billion Australian dollar (about 65 billion USD) submarine deal that Australia had signed with it in 2016.
Reacting sharply to the pact between the three countries, French Foreign Minister Jean Yves Le Drian said, “We had established a trusting relationship with Australia, and this trust was betrayed…I am today very angry and very bitter about this break-up. This is not acceptable between allies.”
“What concerns me as well is the American behaviour. This brutal, unilateral, unpredictable decision looks very much like what
