Comments by "DasBubba" (@dasbubba841) on "Australia scraps French submarine deal" video.

@holthrain3985 I think the "defense agreement" was more in reference to Greece's EEZ dispute with Turkey. As the US pivots to the Asia-Pacific region, they gave more influence in the Mediterranean to France.
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@interrobangings No quite true. Europe has, for a long time, lacked serious hard power and a will to use it. Examples include Yugoslavia and Kosovo, and more recently with Iran. The US is a more firm and consistent ally when it comes to China than the EU.
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@Deep Claymore No one in the US wants a war with Iran. Iran is actually quite useful as a boogeyman to keep Israel and Saudi Arabia in line, and to prevent them from going at each others' throats. Iran is of little direct threat to US interests, besides some shenanigans in Iraq.
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The French, and Europe as a whole, can't really project hard power into the Asia-Pacific region. Especially not against China. The French sub deal was never about military effectiveness (especially considering Australia mostly uses American equipment) but about keeping tensions low with China. Ballooning costs, delays, and questionable effectiveness meant that when the geopolitical situation changed (such as with the Chinese-Australian trade war), Canberra was more than happy to ditch the deal.
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It's happening regardless.
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