French President Emmanuel Macron says Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison lied to him over the cancellation of a mammoth submarine contract, in a dramatic escalation of tensions between the two leaders.
Asked by The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age at the G20 summit in Rome whether he could trust Morrison again, Macron replied: “We will see what he will deliver.
“I have a lot of respect for your country, a lot of respect and friendship for your people. I just say when we have respect, you have to be true, and you have to behave in line and consistent with this value”.
When also asked if he thought Morrison lied, Macron said: “I don’t think, I know”
Morrison and Macron had the day before shook hands briefly, but Macron’s anger on the closing day of the Rome summit suggests the rift caused by the new AUKUS pact will be long-lasting.
The two leaders have been at odds since September, when the Australian federal government axed a deal for France to design and help build 12 diesel submarines in favour of a possible eight nuclear-powered boats supplied with the help of the United States and United Kingdom.
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The three countries negotiated the pact in secret for months, prompting Paris to accuse its allies of a “stab in the back”.
In Rome, Macron noted Australia had ditched a signed contract for a known submarine program in exchange for an 18-month review into how it can acquire nuclear-powered submarines from the US and UK.
“With the French deal negotiated with [former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull], Australia had definitely the option to produce in Australia conventional submarines and to get the submarines with a clear and reliable time.”
“Now, you have 18 months before a report. Good luck.”
While Macron stressed that he respected the history between Australia and France and the need for Canberra to make “sovereign choices”, the French President said “you have to respect allies and partners, and this was not ok”.
Morrison denied lying and said he explained to Macron in June that the submarines to be supplied by French company Naval Group were not going to meet Australia’s needs.
“I was very clear that the conventional submarines were not going to be able to meet our strategic interests, and we were going to have to make a decision in our national interest,” Morrison said.
Asked why he did not tell Macron that Australia was discussing a nuclear submarine option with the United States and the United Kingdom, he said: “This was not something you go around having broad conversations about.”
US President Joe Biden used a meeting with Macron on the eve of the G20 to claim he was unaware that France had not been given advance notice that Australia had resolved to tear up a A$90 billion submarine contract.
“What happened was, to use an English phrase, what we did was clumsy,” Biden said.
“It was not done with a lot of grace. I was under the impression that France had been informed long before that the deal was not going through. Honest to God, I did not know you had not.”
