Wednesday, September 22, 2021
After a submarine dispute
The meeting between the USA and France fell through
The new Indo-Pacific Pact creates tension between France and the United States. First the ambassador is withdrawn from Washington. Now a meeting of foreign ministers has fallen through. Heiko Maas rates the current developments as sobering – “not just for France”.
Because of the dispute over a new security pact in the Indo-Pacific, a meeting of foreign ministers between the United States and France, Great Britain and Germany on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York failed. When asked, Federal Foreign Minister Heiko Maas confirmed that the French side had renounced their participation in the so-called quad meeting originally planned for Wednesday. The reason is “that there is resentment on the French side, which I can understand well, and that there some things have to be straightened out before you can sit down in such a format”. The meeting was not canceled entirely, but “just postponed”.
The US State Department, however, said that scheduling difficulties were the reason for the change in plan. The schedules are dynamic, so it remains to be seen whether a meeting in this format will take place in the course of the week or is necessary, said a high-ranking employee of the ministry. But she expects US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and his French counterpart Jean-Yves Le Drian to have the chance to exchange ideas during the week.
Indo-Pacific Pact creates tension
The new Indo-Pacific Pact has created a deep diplomatic crisis between the US and France. US President Joe Biden, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson launched a new alliance last week that is apparently intended to counter a military threat from China in the Indo-Pacific. The pact shattered a multi-billion dollar submarine deal between Australia and France, which led to angry reactions in Paris. The French President Emmanuel Macron temporarily withdrew the ambassadors from the USA and Australia – an extremely unusual measure among allies.
Maas also criticized the new security alliance with clear words. “What was decided there and the way in which this decision came about is irritating. And it is sobering not only for France,” said the SPD politician in New York.