European Ties Fraying?

by Mike James

French foreign minister Jean Yves Le Drian has accused the United States (US) President Joe Biden of acting like Donald Trump after France was pushed aside when the US, United Kingdom (UK), and Australia announced a partnership for the Indo-Pacific that will lead to Australia purchasing US nuclear-powered submarines.

The partnership by the US, UK, and Australia is attempting to counter China's emerging Navy in the Indian and Pacific oceans. The last time the US ever engaged in a technology transfer like this was from 1958 to 1962, when it agreed to exchange nuclear capabilities with the UK in an effort to deter the Soviet Union from nuclear action as part of the US–UK Mutual Defense Agreement, which is still in effect.

"The US has only ever shared this technology with the UK, so the fact that Australia is now joining this club indicates that the United States is prepared to take significant new steps and break with old norms to meet the China challenge," said Sam Roggeveen, director of the International Security Program at the Lowy Institute in Sydney, Australia.

This new pact will lead to the demise of a $66 billion dollar contract Australia had signed in 2016 to buy 12 French diesel-powered submarines. Le Drian said he was "angry and bitter" over the change, calling it a breach of trust.

"This brutal, unilateral, and unpredictable decision reminds me a lot of what Mr. Trump used to do," Le Drian told Franceinfo radio. "This isn't done between allies."

Only two weeks before, Australian defense and foreign ministers had reconfirmed to the French their 2016 deal with the French shipbuilder Naval Group.

Le Drian believes the US duped France in this recent deal.

Josep Borrell, a high-ranking European Union (EU) diplomat, says the new pact shows that the EU must develop its own defense and security strategies. "We must survive on our own, as others do," Borrell said.

As a further sign of a widening rift between the US and France, France ordered the recall of their ambassador to Washington due to the submarine deal. France also recalled their ambassador to Australia. After about two weeks, France did send their ambassador back to the US.

This latest incident is just one in a series of incidents that has the EU thinking seriously about upgrading their military forces.

Just a day before the new US/UK/Australia deal was announced, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the EU needs to learn lessons from the abrupt US pullout from Afghanistan. Von der Leyen stated the EU needed to develop the "political will" to build up its own military force to deploy for future crises.

Germany's defense minister, Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer said that Von der Leyen is correct in her assessment. She believes the EU Defense Summit in 2022 will be very important. She also believes Germany and France should take the lead on this issue.

On September 28, 2021, French President Macron urged Europeans to "come out of their naïveté" on the world stage and assert their independence from the US. This is evidence the diplomatic issue is far from over.

Greek Prime Minister Mitsotakis, who was meeting with Macron on the 28th for a defense deal, stated that the deal "opens the door to the Europe of tomorrow that is strong and autonomous."

For years theories in the Church of God movement have talked about a reemergence of a powerful military and political force in Europe. The theory centers around the idea that the Beast power might emerge from the remnants of the fourth beast mentioned in Daniel 7. The fourth beast was the Roman Empire.

In Daniel 11:40-45 we read about the time of the end and the emergence of a King of the North who will battle a King of the South. The original King of the North was associated with the remnants of Alexander's Empire (Greek). Greece, of course, is a member of the EU. If we associate a European connection to the final King of the North, then Europe could be a good pick for the emergence of this King.

Much has been written about the possibility of the EU emerging as a possible King of the North. There is no doubt the EU is a powerful economic force on the world scene today. But thus far its political and military capabilities have lagged behind its economic clout.

If the EU ever focused on consolidating its political and military potential, it could easily be an emerging superpower on the world scene to rival the United States and China. Let's not forget the French military has the third-largest number of nuclear weapons in the world, trailing only Russia and the United States.

As we move forward in history keep your eyes not only on what is happening in the Middle East, but in the US, EU, and China.

Sources:

"France Accuses Biden of Sinking Australia Submarine Deal," Aljazeera, September 16, 2021.

"Von der Leyen: EU Must Acquire 'political will' to Build Own Military," by Daniel Boffey, The Guardian, September 15, 2021.

"China and France Left Fuming at US Nuclear Sub Pact With Australia," by Jennifer Jett, Chantal Da Silva and Shannon Pettypiece, NBC News.

"Sub Accord With Australia Angers, France, China," by Karen DeYoung, Michale E. Miller and Lily Kuo, The Washington Post, September 17, 2021.

"France Recalls Ambassadors to US, Australia in Fallout Over Submarine Pact," by Karen DeYoung, The Washington Post, September 17, 2001.

"New AUKUS Partnership A 'Win' For Democracies: Experts," by Andrew Thornebrooke, The Epoch Times, September 22, 2021.

"Macron Urges Europe to Assert Independence from US Stop Being 'Naïve,'" by Rick Noack, The Washington Post, September 29, 2021.

"French Ambassador Will Return to Washington," by Anne Gearan, Rick Noack, John Hudson and Adam Taylor, The Washington Post, September 23, 2021.