AP

Australia sticks to US nuclear subs despite French criticism

Nov 17, 2022, 11:11 PM | Updated: Nov 18, 2022, 1:18 am

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, center, arrives to attend the APEC Economic Leaders Mee...

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, center, arrives to attend the APEC Economic Leaders Meeting during the APEC summit, Friday, Nov. 18, 2022, in Bangkok, Thailand. (Diego Azubel/Pool Photo via AP)

(Diego Azubel/Pool Photo via AP)

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Australia’s prime minister said Friday he remained committed to building a fleet of submarines powered by U.S. nuclear technology despite the French president describing the plan as a “confrontation with China.”

The previous Australian government infuriated President Emmanuel Macron last year by canceling a contract for a French-built fleet of conventionally-powered submarines worth 90 billion Australian dollars ($66 billion) and opting instead for nuclear-powered versions in a deal secretly brokered with the United States and Britain.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has stood by the so-called AUKUS agreement to embrace nuclear technology since he came to power at elections in May. Whether Australia opts for a version of the U.S. Virginia-class or British Astute-class submarine will be announced in March.

“We are proceeding with the AUKUS arrangements, there’s nothing ambiguous about it,” Albanese told reporters at a Bangkok summit that Macron is also attending.

Macron on Thursday criticized the AUKUS deal, telling reporters that France had offered Australia, which has no nuclear energy industry, diesel-electric subs that could be independently maintained.

“It was not in a confrontation with China because these were not nuclear-powered submarines,” Macron said through an interpreter.

But Albanese’s predecessor Prime Minister Scott Morrison chose the “exact opposite: To enter into a confrontation by going nuclear,” Macron added.

When the AUKUS deal was announced in September last year, China’s foreign ministry condemned the export of U.S. nuclear technology as “highly irresponsible.” Some of Australia’s neighbors fear it could lead to an arms race in the region.

Asked if Australia was creating a nuclear confrontation with China, Albanese replied: “President Macron is entitled to put forward his views, as he does in a very forthright way.”

“He’s entitled to make whatever comments he wants as the leader of France,” Albanese added.

Albanese suggested there was no ill-feeling between the leaders, saying, “We had a very friendly exchange, as we always do” when they met Thursday night in Bangkok.

Last year, Macron accused Morrison of lying to him over the deal and refused to take the Australian leader’s phone calls for weeks after the contract for a dozen submarines was scrapped.

Macron on Thursday said the prospect of France supplying Australia with submarines remained “on the table.”

Albanese said Australia was continuing to discuss with France “how we can cooperate in defense.”

With the first of eight nuclear submarines not due to be delivered until 2040, Australia could face a capability gap as its Collins-class conventional submarines approach the end of their lives.

There has been speculation that France could provide Australia with a small interim fleet of diesel-electric subs.

Albanese’s newly elected government agreed in June to pay French shipbuilder Naval Group a compensatory 555 million euros ($584 million) for breaking the submarine contract.

Australian Defense Department officials said at the time the compensation was generous in the hope of cooling French anger while enhancing security links between the two South Pacific powers.

Albanese said AUKUS was not brought up on Tuesday when he had his first bilateral meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.


              Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, center, arrives to attend the APEC Economic Leaders Meeting during the APEC summit, Friday, Nov. 18, 2022, in Bangkok, Thailand. (Diego Azubel/Pool Photo via AP)
            
              French President Emmanuel Macron arrives to attend the APEC Leader's Informal Dialogue with Guests during the APEC summit in Bangkok, Thailand, Friday, Nov. 18, 2022. (Rungroj Yongrit/Pool Photo via AP)
            
              French President Emmanuel Macron arrives to attend the APEC Leader's Informal Dialogue with Guests during the APEC summit in Bangkok, Thailand, Friday, Nov. 18, 2022. (Rungroj Yongrit/Pool Photo via AP)
            
              France's President Emmanuel Macron attends the APEC Leaders' Informal Dialogue with Guests during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit in Bangkok, Thailand Friday, Nov. 18, 2022. (Athit Perawongmetha/Pool Photo via AP)
            
              Thailand's Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha, right, walks hand in hand with French President Emmanuel Macron before their meeting at the Government House, Thursday, Nov. 17, 2022, in Bangkok, Thailand. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit, Pool)

AP

Ray Epps Ray Epps, an Arizona man who became the center of a conspiracy theory about Jan. 6, 2021, ...

Associated Press

Ray Epps, an Arizona man who supported Trump, pleads guilty to Capital riot charge

Ray Epps, the target of a conspiracy theory about the Jan. 6, 2021, attack, pleaded guilty on Wednesday to a misdemeanor charge.

1 day ago

Former President Donald Trump repeatedly declined in an interview aired Sunday, Sept. 17, 2023, to ...

Associated Press

Trump refuses to say in a TV interview how he watched the Jan. 6 attack unfold at the US Capitol

Former President Donald Trump repeatedly declined in an interview aired Sunday to answer questions about whether he watched the Capitol riot.

4 days ago

This frame grab from video, provided by the Mexican government, shows Ovidio Guzman Lopez being det...

Associated Press

Mexico extradites son of ‘El Chapo,’ Ovidio Guzman Lopez to US

The son of notorious cartel leader Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzmán, Ovidio Guzman Lopez was extradited to the U.S. on Friday.

5 days ago

impeachments in US history...

Associated Press

A look at notable impeachments in US history, including Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton was acquitted Saturday on during his impeachment trial. Here's a roundup of impeachments in U.S. history.

5 days ago

The sticker price is displayed in the window of an unsold 2023 Navigator sports-utility vehicle at ...

Associated Press

The auto workers strike will drive up car prices, but not right away — unless consumers panic

Car shoppers are heading for a new round of sticker shock if the strike by the United Auto Workers doesn’t end soon, officials say.

6 days ago

Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham announces an order restricting people from carrying guns in Bernalillo ...

Associated Press

Group sues after New Mexico governor suspends right to carry guns in Albuquerque in public

The New Mexico governor's emergency order suspending the right to carry firearms in public near Albuquerque drew an immediate court challenge.

12 days ago

Sponsored Articles

...

Ignite Digital

How to unlock the power of digital marketing for Phoenix businesses

All businesses around the Valley hopes to maximize their ROI with current customers and secure a greater market share in the digital sphere.

...

re:vitalize

When most diets fail, re:vitalize makes a difference that shows

Staying healthy and losing weight are things many people in Arizona are conscious of, especially during the summer.

...

Ability360

At Ability360, every day is Independence Day

With 100 different programs and services, more than 1,500 non-medically based home care staff, a world-renowned Sports & Fitness Center and over 15,000 people with disabilities served annually, across all ages and demographics, Ability360 is a nationwide leader in the disability community.

Australia sticks to US nuclear subs despite French criticism