Aukus pact fallout continues

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison attends a joint press conference via video link with Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson. Australia, the UK and the US have created a trilateral security partnership known as AUKUS. EPA
French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian. On September 17, France recalled its ambassadors to the US and Australia in a ferocious row over the scrapping of a submarine contract due to the AUKUS partnership. AFP
French submarine FNS Amethyste prepares to arrive at a US naval base in Connecticut. AP
Fast attack submarine USS Oklahoma City returns to a US naval base on the Pacific island of Guam. Australia's Prime Minister Scott Morrison has rejected Chinese criticism of his country's nuclear submarine alliance with the US. AP
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin in Washington. America's alliance with Australia and Britain aims to strengthen military capabilities in the face of a rising China. AFP
(L-R) Australian Defence Minister Peter Dutton, Foreign Minister Marise Payne, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin at the State Department in Washington. AFP