It is a bit of “the elephant in the room” that it is better to ignore. After their bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday, Joe Biden and Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison praised the partnership between the two countries in the Indo-Pacific region. But during a short statement, they were careful to dodge the questions shouted by journalists on the submarine crisis, while Joe Biden and Emmanuel Macron are due to speak on the phone during the week.
BIDEN: “It goes way beyond just our partnership. Our partnership is in line with all the other democracies in the world.”
Both Biden and Scott Morrison at pains to point out that a US / Australia partnership “reaches out” to other nations. Read; the French. pic.twitter.com/wdlrlm1qkP
– Zach Purser Brown (@zachjourno) September 21, 2021
“The United States and Australia have always had a partnership centered on a world order that promotes freedom,” said Morrison. According to him, this alliance “benefits many other (countries), whether our friends in Southeast Asia or in Europe.” An allusion, it seems, to France, a week after the announcement of a new strategic alliance between Australia, the United States and the United Kingdom (AUKUS), which torpedoed a mega- French submarine contract in Canberra.
“Break in confidence”
In his speech at the UN platform, Joe Biden, he posed as a champion of international collaboration, without alluding to the crisis shaking transatlantic relations, with a historical reminder of the French ambassador to the States -United.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian again denounced Monday in New York a “brutal” decision and a “breach of confidence between allies”. Surprising several members of the United Nations, Emmanuel Macron chose not to go to New York this year. It is Jean-Yves Le Drian who will speak on behalf of France, by video.