Apart from the Aussies ditching the French to join a new club with the cranky acronym Aukus – that, for Hindi ears, sounds very much like ‘mauka’, which for the Aussies it is, to show the Yanks that they aren’t buddies with China – the tearing up of the French-Australian contract simply attests to the latest craze: no pact is compact, not geopolitically, not entrepreneurally, not matrimonially, not spiritually.
Too much cynicism in September, you say? Well, it’s cost-benefit that turns the world, honey. But, remember, the market value of Vibhishans follow a graph of diminishing returns. Which, incidentally, is why contracts were invented in the first place. So, if you want to pair up with Australia, be a bit careful, mate. It’s your realpolitik versus their realpolitiktoktik.