Australia irks France with sudden US-UK nuclear submarine deal

Australia is joining a new Indo-Pacific security partnership with the U.S. and U.K. that will allow it to acquire nuclear-powered submarines, sparking a rift with France at a time when the Biden administration is pushing allies to counter Chinese assertiveness.
 

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, U.S. President Joe Biden and U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson earlier unveiled the security partnership in a virtual meeting. France said the new partnership scuppers Australia’s 2016 deal with a French shipbuilder Naval Group to build up to 12 submarines -- a project that had blown out to an estimated A$90 billion ($66 billion).

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