Introduction and overview of the bilateral relationship

The announcement in April 2016 that Australia would partner with French company DCNS—now Naval Group—to develop Australia’s future submarine capability has caused many in both countries to look with renewed focus at the bilateral defence and security relationship. This lengthy program of work will see the two countries come together in a substantial way not previously seen. And, beyond ‘cutting steel’, the submarine program provides the opportunity to collaborate across weapons, communications and intelligence systems as well as to put them into practice through exercises and operations. A review of the bilateral relationship presents many instances of Australia and France working together on issues of concern, fighting alongside each other a hundred years ago on the Western Front and today in Iraq and Syria, as well as overlapping areas of interest, such as in the South Pacific and—increasingly for Australia—in Africa. The future of this relationship, however, depends on how the two countries elect to proceed from here. France’s role in the South Pacific, where it shares a border with Australia, and the two countries’ commitment to expeditionary military and humanitarian operations as well as to multilateral institutions, mean that both countries will continue to encounter each other.