Latest news with #AugusteBenebig
The Star
a day ago
- Politics
- The Star
France says Australia defence ties repaired after submarine row
French Army Brigadier General General Eric Ozanne (L) stands with Commander of French Forces New Caledonia Major General Yann Latil (R) and French Ambassador to Australia Pierre-André Imbert (C) next to a drone aboard the French patrol vessel Auguste Benebig, which will participate in the annual Talisman Sabre exercise, in Sydney on July 13, 2025. France's defence relations with Australia have recovered after their 2021 bust-up over a major submarine contract, the country's ambassador said Sunday. - AFP SYDNEY: France's defence relations with Australia have recovered after their 2021 bust-up over a major submarine contract, the country's ambassador said Sunday (July 13). Paris expressed its "strong regrets" when Australia tore up a multibillion-dollar deal to buy a fleet of diesel-powered submarines from France, Ambassador Pierre-Andre Imbert said. Since the 2022 election of Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, however, the defence relationship had been "restarted", he said. "Now, the first pillar of our cooperation is defence and security, so we have a very good level of cooperation," the ambassador told AFP as French forces joined major military drills around Australia. When Australia ditched the French deal, it opted instead to acquire nuclear-powered vessels in a new three-way AUKUS pact with the United States and Britain. But a US defence official last month revealed that a review of AUKUS was underway to ensure it "aligned with the President's America First agenda" and that the US defence industrial base was "meeting our needs". Under the AUKUS deal, Australia would acquire at least three Virginia class submarines from the United States within 15 years, eventually manufacturing its own subs. The US Navy has 24 Virginia-class vessels but American shipyards are struggling to meet production targets set at two new boats each year. Asked if France would ever consider discussing a new submarine deal with Australia if the AUKUS agreement was torpedoed by the review, the French ambassador said he was reluctant to speculate. "I would say it's more an issue for Australia for the moment. And of course, we are always discussing with our friends of Australia," he said. "But for the moment, they have chosen AUKUS," he said. "If this changes (and) they ask, we'll see." More than 30,000 military personnel from 19 nations are set to join the three-week, annual Talisman Sabre military exercises, which started Sunday across Australia and Papua New Guinea. - AFP
Kuwait Times
2 days ago
- Politics
- Kuwait Times
China likely to spy on military drills with US: Australia
SYDNEY: French Army Brigadier General General Eric Ozanne (left) stands with Commander of French Forces New Caledonia Major General Yann Latil (right) and French Ambassador to Australia Pierre-André Imbert (center) next to a drone aboard the French patrol vessel Auguste Benebig, which will participate in the annual Talisman Sabre exercise, in Sydney on July 13, 2025. -- AFP SYDNEY: Australia's government said Sunday it expects China to spy on major military drills it is conducting with the United States and other allies. It also renewed a charge — denounced by Beijing as a 'false narrative' — that China wants to establish a military base in the South Pacific. The comments by a government minister came as Prime Minister Anthony Albanese made a six-day visit to China to bolster recently repaired trade ties. More than 30,000 military personnel from 19 nations are set to join in the annual Talisman Sabre exercise from Sunday across Australia and Papua New Guinea. 'The Chinese military have observed these exercises since 2017 and it would be very unusual if they didn't do that this time,' said Pat Conroy, Australia's minister for the defense industry and for Pacific Island affairs. 'We'll obviously observe their activities and monitor their presence around Australia,' he told Australian public broadcaster ABC. 'People observe these exercises to collect intelligence around procedures, around the electronic spectrum and the use of communications, and we'll adjust accordingly so that we manage that leakage.' The strategically important South Pacific region is at the centre of a diplomatic scramble for influence pitting China against its Western rivals. 'We're seeing in my portfolio of the Pacific, China seeking to secure a military base in the region,' said Conroy, who has previously made the same assessment. 'We're working very hard to be the primary security partner of choice for the region, because we don't think that's a particularly optimal thing for Australia.' China inked a secretive security pact with Pacific nation Solomon Islands in 2022. Although the details have never been published, the United States and close ally Australia fear it may be the prelude to some kind of permanent Chinese base. Australia wants 'a balanced region where no one is dominated and no one dominates', Conroy said. China's embassy in Fiji this month insisted claims that it wanted to set up a military base in the region were 'false narratives' driven by 'ulterior motives'. Beijing has spent hundreds of millions of dollars building sports stadiums, presidential palaces, hospitals and roads in Pacific island nations. Kiribati, Solomon Islands and Nauru have in recent years severed longstanding diplomatic links with Taiwan in favor of China. – AFP
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First Post
2 days ago
- Politics
- First Post
France confident ties with Australia 'repaired' after 2021 submarine row
According to French ambassador to Australia, the defence relationship had been 'restarted' since the 2022 election of Prime Minister Anthony Albanese read more French Army Brigadier General General Eric Ozanne (L) stands with Commander of French Forces New Caledonia Major General Yann Latil (R) and French Ambassador to Australia Pierre-André Imbert (C) next to a drone aboard the French patrol vessel Auguste Benebig, which will participate in the annual Talisman Sabre exercise, in Sydney on July 13, 2025. Source: AFP France's defence relations with Australia have recovered after their 2021 bust-up over a major submarine contract, the country's ambassador said Sunday. Paris expressed its 'strong regrets' when Australia tore up a multibillion-dollar deal to buy a fleet of diesel-powered submarines from France, Ambassador Pierre-Andre Imbert said. Since the 2022 election of Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, however, the defence relationship had been 'restarted', he said. 'Now, the first pillar of our cooperation is defence and security, so we have a very good level of cooperation,' the ambassador told AFP as French forces joined major military drills around Australia. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD When Australia ditched the French deal, it opted instead to acquire nuclear-powered vessels in a new three-way AUKUS pact with the United States and Britain. But a US defence official last month revealed that a review of AUKUS was underway to ensure it 'aligned with the President's America First agenda' and that the US defence industrial base was 'meeting our needs'. Under the AUKUS deal, Australia would acquire at least three Virginia class submarines from the United States within 15 years, eventually manufacturing its own subs. The US Navy has 24 Virginia-class vessels but American shipyards are struggling to meet production targets set at two new boats each year. Asked if France would ever consider discussing a new submarine deal with Australia if the AUKUS agreement was torpedoed by the review, the French ambassador said he was reluctant to speculate. 'I would say it's more an issue for Australia for the moment. And of course, we are always discussing with our friends of Australia,' he said. 'But for the moment, they have chosen AUKUS,' he said. 'If this changes (and) they ask, we'll see.' More than 30,000 military personnel from 19 nations are set to join the three-week, annual Talisman Sabre military exercises, which started Sunday across Australia and Papua New Guinea. (Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Firstpost staff.) STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD
