Australia's prime minister says he remains committed to a fleet of submarines equipped with U.S. nuclear technology, despite the French president calling the plan a confrontation with China, AP reported.

Australia's previous government infuriated President Emmanuel Macron last year by canceling a A$90 billion ($66 billion) contract with France to build a fleet of conventional-powered submarines, favoring a deal with the United States and Britain.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has supported the so-called AUKUS nuclear agreement since he came to power in the May election. It will be announced in March whether Australia will choose a version of the U.S. Virginia-class submarine or the British Astute-class submarine. 

Macron slammed the AUKUS deal, telling reporters that France had offered Australia, which has no nuclear power, diesel-electric submarines that could be serviced itself.

This is not a confrontation with China because these were not nuclear submarines, Macron said. But Albanese's predecessor, Prime Minister Scott Morrison, chose the exact opposite: to enter into a confrontation, Macron added.