AUKUS Geopolitical Rocks

Within a week of the announcement of the AUKUS partnership, there was division in Europe. Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States will join forces against China in the AUKUS, but it has lost a valuable contract to France to build submarines for Australia. Annoyed Frenchmen demand explanations from the United States and put pressure on Atlantic relations.

1. Why are the French angry?

As for France, AUKUS is very painful because it costs a lot of money. A $ 50 billion contract to build 12 submarines to Australia has been severed. Australians are going to buy submarines in the United States. The deceived French company is largely in the hands of the French government.

For France, submarine sales to Australia are the first step towards becoming more active in the region from the South China Sea to Australia and New Zealand. More than one and a half million French people live in the region, including New Caledonia and French Polynesia. French President Emmanuel Macron hoped the Australians would be a new partner in the region. That friendship cooled considerably as the French recalled their ambassador from the Australian capital, Canberra.

2. What will AUKUS do?

The three countries want to combine knowledge, technology and military might to profile themselves in the South Asian region. All three countries, for example, want to occupy China, which is increasingly taking an aggressive position in the South China Sea.

The most important part of the alliance is military strength. That’s why buying submarines is an important component. More American soldiers are coming to Australia. The U.S. Air Force is currently stationed there. It could be expanded and the U.S. Navy could go that route.

AUKUS sets a different tone to the other partnerships between the three countries, Canada and New Zealand. Five eyesHave a partnership. It focuses on sharing intelligence information.

3. Will Europe join the French wrath?

France’s anger targets not only Australia but also the United States and the United Kingdom. French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said it was unacceptable for US President Joe Biden to make such unpredictable decisions. France withdrew its ambassador from Washington DC and defeated the European-American technological alliance.

The Council for Trade and Technology – the new joint venture for the United States and the European Union – is scheduled to meet for the first time on September 29 in Pittsburgh, USA, but is likely to be postponed. Thierry Breton, in charge of the European Commission, said it was time to suspend the recovery of European-US relations. Earlier, Breton said something had broken down in the relationship. The head of the European Commission, Ursula van der Leyen, said the United States’ actions with France were “unacceptable.”

Not every European member state accepts the French campaign against the United States. Trade-oriented countries such as Denmark were critical of the harsh French response. In an interview with the Danish newspaper, Prime Minister Mete Frederickson said: Politics I could not understand the French tone: ‘I see Pittsburgh as a very loyal ally in the Atlantic Ocean.’

On Wednesday, September 22, French President Macron Biden spoke on the phone about AUKUS. Following the phone call, it was announced that Biden would travel to Europe next month to discuss further relations with Macron. Earlier, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Macron should vent his anger.

4. How does the Netherlands view AUKUS?

In his speech from the Throne, King Willem-Alexander spoke about the Netherlands ‘foreign relations:’ It is clear that the Netherlands, along with other EU member states, faces strategic choices in its relations with China and Russia. But also in relations with the United States. States. ‘

The Netherlands seems to understand that the United States will pay more attention, especially in Asia and China. That U.S. tax has already been taken by Joe Biden’s predecessors Barack Obama and Donald Trump. De Going said Atlantic cooperation was the basis of Dutch security policy. Prime Minister Mark Rutte has not yet commented on AUKUS. On Monday, September 20, he had a telephone conversation with NATO leader Jens Stoltenberg.