The economic newspaper “Les Echos” this Thursday (16) prints on its front page a news, still conditional, that will materialize during the night:. “Australia places an order for 12 French submarines and opts for a huge military agreement with the United States.”
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has confirmed that The US will buy Tomahawk long-range cruise missiles to strengthen its military defenses against a China Expansion of.
Morrison confirmed that This marks the abandonment of the US$66 billion contract signed with France To build twelve diesel and electric propulsion submarines, based on the model of the “Barracuda” from the French Navy.
The order was signed in 2016 by then-President Francois Hollande and Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian. After an intense bidding, the French Naval Group emerged as the winner, defeating offers from Japan and Germany.
The Australian press was already announcing that Morrison was about to change course due to intense pressure from the Biden administration. US government wants to make a major agreement on military cooperation between Americans, Australians and British (watch video below).
Britain, America and Australia unite to control China
The tripartite agreement, called AUCUS, includes the initials in English of the three countries involved, the alignment of technologies in the cybernetic sector and in artificial intelligence in submarine and missile systems. All this to open a front against China.
“Until then, the Australian government has tried to maintain a certain independence and neutrality in the space between the Indian and Pacific Oceans,” writes the French newspaper.
According to “Les Echos”, the blow is hard for the French naval group. Although the company has been paid for the study and research since 2016, the group still expects, at the beginning of the week, to sign a new phase of the contract.
The construction site in South Australia had already begun and the French company had over 300 workers on site. France also recently announced contracts worth over $1 billion with third-party companies.
The Australian decision changes position in world geopolitical chess. First, according to the “Les Echos” analysis, a Chinese invasion is a far-fetched hypothesis.
China and Australia maintain friendly relations. China is Australia’s largest importer, supplying essential raw materials to China.
“But the hypothesis that Canberra finds itself embroiled in a conflict between Beijing and the West after the invasion of Taiwan, for example, is not entirely absurd,” the paper tells WebMD.
According to a recent survey, 42% of Australians think it is possible that one day China will attack the country.
