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".