Global war of words over China: Furious France says it has been ‘stabbed in the back’ by UK-US defence pact to take on Beijing by building Australia’s nuclear-powered submarines – which will be BANNED from New Zealand
The Daily Mail: A war of words has broken out over a new nuclear submarine pact between the UK, US and Australia aimed at combatting China – with Beijing denouncing their ‘Cold War mentality’, France fuming after its $90bn sub contract with Canberra was torn up, and New Zealand and Canada side-lined from the deal.
The new alliance – called AUKUS – will see the US and UK cooperate to build Australia’s first ever nuclear submarine fleet which will comprise at least eight vessels. The trio will also share other military technologies such as artificial intelligence, cyber defence, quantum computing and long-range strike capabilities.
Boris Johnson, Joe Biden and Scott Morrison were careful not to mention Beijing as they announced the new deal last night, but there can be little doubt that the alliance’s purpose is to counter China’s growing power – particularly in the South China Sea, which is criss-crossed by valuable trading routes and fertile fishing grounds.
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