World

UK-France defence summit cancelled amid AUKUS submarine deal

Paris is angry after Australia signed the ‘AUKUS’ defense pact to build nuclear-powered submarines, pulling out of a major contract with France in the process.

Published

1 month ago

Sep 20, 2021 09:34 AM

Mehak Javed

UK-France defence summit cancelled amid AUKUS submarine deal

France has called off a bilateral defense meeting with the United Kingdom (UK) set for this week amid a row prompted by new security deal between Britain, the US and Australia.

Paris is angry after Australia signed the ‘AUKUS’ defense pact to build nuclear-powered submarines, pulling out of a major contract with France in the process.

On Thursday, Australia announced that as part of the new "AUKUS" agreement, it would be building eight nuclear-powered subs supported by the U.S. and Britain, rather than building conventional ones with France.

According to the French foreign minister, a relationship of trust had been breached because Australia had not clarified it wanted out of the deal with Paris.

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison claims to have expressed concerns over the contract for months and only acted in the country's best interests.

A state media KCNA quoting foreign ministry said, "These are extremely undesirable and dangerous acts which will upset the strategic balance in the Asia-Pacific region".

UK PM Boris Johnson said France had nothing to worry about from the deal.

The Aukus agreement brokered last week, widely seen as an effort to counter China's influence in the contested South China Sea, ended a deal worth $37bn (£27bn) signed by Australia in 2016 for France to build 12 conventional submarines.

However, French foreign minister Jean-Yves Le Drian has described it as a "stab in the back" that constituted "unacceptable behavior between allies and partners".

Following this, French President Emmanuel Macron ordered the recall of the French ambassadors to Washington and Canberra.

Aukus means Australia to become the seventh nation in the world to operate nuclear-powered submarines.

The agreement will also see the allies share cyber capabilities, artificial intelligence and other undersea technologies.

The pact, however, has been criticized by China, which has accused the three powers of having a "Cold War mentality".

Up Next

Security forces kill TTP commander in North Waziristan operation: ISPR

Don't Miss

Pakistan's COVID-19 positivity rate drops to 4.22%

Mehak Javed

Mehak Javed is a senior editor at GNN, known for writing top quality content which garner very high readerships and has been covering every field of journalism, including politics, media, sports and scholarly articles. Mehak Javed is nothing less than a Veteran Editor and has been writing for GNN for the past 8 months.

Pakistan

17 more succumb to COVID-19 in Pakistan, toll at 28,269

Pakistan is presently experiencing the fourth wave of coronavirus which is said to be deadlier and more contagious than the previous three COVID waves.

Published

4 days ago

Oct 17, 2021 08:41 AM

Mehak Javed

17 more succumb to COVID-19 in Pakistan, toll at 28,269

Islamabad: The novel coronavirus claimed 17 more lives in Pakistan during the previous 24 hours, raising the death toll to 28,269.

Pakistan is presently experiencing the fourth wave of coronavirus which is said to be deadlier and more contagious than the previous three COVID waves.

According to National Command and Operations Center (NCOC), around 720 cases of coronavirus were reported while 17 people succumbed to the disease in the last 24 hours, taking the total death toll to 28,269.

The total number of cases has reached 1,262,771.

As many as 1,194,590 patients have recovered from the disease with 1,958 critical cases.

Punjab

The number of patients swelled to 437,316 in the province with 12,821 causalities.

Sindh

The number of infections has surged to 464,746 in the province, while the death toll has reached 7,520.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

The confirmed cases have surged to 176,501 in the province with 5,673 casualties.

Balochistan

There are 33,108 confirmed cases while 352 patients have died from the infection so far.

AJK and Gilgit-Baltistan

There are 34,380 coronavirus cases in the AJK while the death toll has reached 740. On the other hand, there are 10,363 cases in GB with 186 coronavirus deaths.

Islamabad

There are 106,357 cases in the capital city while 936 people have lost their lives.

Pakistan

Pakistan logs over 600 new COVID infections, 20 deaths

According to National Command and Operations Center (NCOC), around 603 cases of coronavirus were reported while 20 people succumbed to the disease in the last 24 hours, taking the total death toll to 28,300.

Published

2 days ago

Oct 19, 2021 08:51 AM

Mehak Javed

Pakistan logs over 600 new COVID infections, 20 deaths

Islamabad: Amid a steady decline in Covid-19 infections, Pakistan's coronavirus positivity ratio further fell to 1.37% with 603 new cases.

Pakistan is presently experiencing the fourth wave of coronavirus which is said to be deadlier and more contagious than the previous three COVID waves.

The total number of cases has reached 1,265,650.

As many as 1,211,710 patients have recovered from the disease with 1,852 critical cases.

Punjab

The number of patients swelled to 438,133 in the province with 12,861 causalities.

Sindh

The number of infections has surged to 466,154 in the province, while the death toll has reached 7,533.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

The confirmed cases have surged to 176,950 in the province with 5,689 casualties.

Balochistan

There are 33,133 confirmed cases while 354 patients have died from the infection so far.

AJK and Gilgit-Baltistan

There are 34,406 coronavirus cases in the AJK while the death toll has reached 740. On the other hand, there are 10,370 cases in GB with 186 coronavirus deaths.

Islamabad

There are 106,504 cases in the capital city while 937 people have lost their lives.

Pakistan

COVID-19: Pakistan reports 1,004 cases, 28 deaths

According to National Command and Operations Center (NCOC), around 1,004 cases of coronavirus were reported while 28 people succumbed to the disease in the last 24 hours, taking the total death toll to 28,134.

Published

1 week ago

Oct 11, 2021 08:59 AM

Mehak Javed

COVID-19: Pakistan reports 1,004 cases, 28 deaths

Islamabad: Amid a steady decline in Covid-19 infections, Pakistan's coronavirus positivity ratio further fell to 2.31% with 1,004 new cases.

Pakistan is presently experiencing the fourth wave of coronavirus which is said to be deadlier and more contagious than the previous three COVID waves.

The total number of cases has reached 1,258,959.

As many as 1,188,562 patients have recovered from the disease with 2,473 critical cases.

Punjab

The number of patients swelled to 436,197 in the province with 12,785 causalities.

Sindh

The number of infections has surged to 462,859 in the province, while the death toll has reached 7,497.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

The confirmed cases have surged to 175,974 in the province with 5,645 casualties.

Balochistan

There are 33,076 confirmed cases while 350 patients have died from the infection so far.

AJK and Gilgit-Baltistan

There are 34,350 coronavirus cases in the AJK while the death toll has reached 739. On the other hand, there are 10,350 cases in GB with 186 coronavirus deaths.

Islamabad

There are 106,153 cases in the capital city while 932 people have lost their lives.