The foreign ministers of Australia and France have agreed to boost military cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region. This is seen as a move to restore ties after Canberra scrapped a submarine deal with Paris.

Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong met with her French counterpart Catherine Colonna in Canberra on Monday.

Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong said, "We are launching the roadmap today. It outlines new levels of cooperation to achieve outcomes under the pillars of defense and security, resilience and climate action, education and culture, and responding to the needs of our partners in the Pacific."

French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna said, "The indo-Pacific is a top priority for France. We are a nation of the Pacific. We are determined to step up, beef up our cooperation with the partners in the region including of course, with the number one partner for us in the region i.e. Australia."

They agreed to enhance defense ties through reciprocal access to their military facilities in the region and joint drills amid China's growing maritime presence.

Relations between the two countries soured in 2021 after Australia canceled a multi-billion-dollar submarine contract with France. Instead, then-prime minister Scott Morrison announced Australia would get its first nuclear-powered subs as part of a trilateral security alliance with the US and Britain called AUKUS.