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ABSTRACT
France has emerged as a country with ambitions in the Indo-Pacific. It has vast territories, population and economic interests in the Indo-Pacific which necessitate a coherent national security policy towards this region. Even before the promulgation of its Indo-Pacific strategy, France has been involved in maritime Asia, primarily through defence sales. The changing balance of power has renewed European attention towards the Indo-Pacific wherein France is making its mark. This article studies the drivers of the French Indo-Pacific strategy and goes further to understand the fundamentals that have led to French attention to this region. A careful study of all major French policy articles lays out the strategic thinking in Paris. The article briefly presents bilateral and multilateral engagements of France. While traditional and non-traditional security issues and normative drive are apparent in the public discourse, it is clear that the major drivers are France's military–industrial complex and the desire to be able to influence the regional order.
Notes
1 Ministère des Armées, “France and Security of the Indo-Pacific,” 2019, https://www.defense.gouv.fr/english/dgris/international-action/regional-issues/la-strategie-de-defense-francaise-en-indopacifique2 (accessed July 23, 2021).
2 Pierre Journoud, “L’ASEAN et La Sécurité En Asie Du Sud-Est Pendant La Guerre Froide: Entre Diplomatie Officielle et Diplomatie Informelle,” Bulletin de l’Institut Pierre Renouvin 2, no. 30 (2009): 109–24, https://doi.org/doi:10.3917.
3 Jérémy Bachelier, “Enjeux et Perspectives de La France En Asie Du Sud-Est: Analyse Au Travers Des Conflits Territoriaux En Mer de Chine,” Geostrategia, December 5, 2019, https://www.geostrategia.fr/enjeux-et-perspectives-de-la-france-en-asie-du-sud-est-analyse-au-travers-des-conflits-territoriaux-en-mer-de-chine/ (accessed December 3, 2020).
4 “How Much Trade Transits the South China Sea?,” Center for Strategic and International Studies, January 25, 2021, https://chinapower.csis.org/much-trade-transits-south-china-sea/ (accessed November 10, 2020).
5 Bachelier, “Enjeux et Perspectives de La France En Asie Du Sud-Est.”
6 Ibid.
7 It is highly likely that hydrocarbon reserves are present in the EEZ of the Europa Island in the Mozambique Channel (National Strategy for Security of Maritime Areas: 2015). In 2013, the French intercepted a seismic vessel and an accompanying ship with “foreign flag” and forced them sail away. As per reports, Pacific Falcon was the research vessel flying Singapore's flag and the accompanying ship bore a Norwegian flag. “French Navy Frigate Intercepts 2 Vessels in French EEZ off Scattered Islands in Indian Ocean,” Navy Recognition, October 3, 2013, https://www.navyrecognition.com/index.php/news/defence-news/year-2013-news/october-2013-navy-world-naval-forces-maritime-industry-technology-news/1275-french-navy-frigate-intercepts-2-vessels-in-french-eez-off-scattered-islands-in-indian-ocean.html (accessed December 4, 2020).
8 Ministère des Armées, “France and Security of the Indo-Pacific.”
9 Idris Ali and Phil Stewart, “Exclusive: In Rare Move, French Warship Passes through Taiwan Strait,” Reuters, April 24, 2019, https://www.reuters.com/article/us-taiwan-france-warship-exclusive-idUSKCN1S027E (accessed February 27, 2021).
10 See “France wades into the South China Sea with a nuclear attack submarine”, France 24, 12 February 2021, URL: https://www.france24.com/en/france/20210212-france-wades-into-the-south-china-sea-with-a-nuclear-attack-submarine (accessed July 25, 2021).
11 This has not been without contestation, but France has not pursued this in the international tribunal. It wants to retain the right to settle bilaterally.
12 Quentin Périnel, “L’économie de la mer pèse trois fois celle de l’automobile”, Le Figaro, February 20, 2017. https://www.lefigaro.fr/conjoncture/2017/02/20/20002-20170220ARTFIG00086-l-economie-de-la-mer-pese-trois-fois-celle-de-l-automobile.php (acccessed February 27, 2021).
13 “The Sources of French Defence Policy,” in French Defence Policy since the End of the Cold War, eds. Alice Pannier and Olivier Schmitt, CASS Military Studies (Routledge, 2020), 180.
14 Ibid.
15 Ibid.
16 Ministère des Armées, “France and Security of the Indo-Pacific.”
17 Ministry of Europe and External affairs, “France in the South-West Indian Ocean,” Republic of France, February 2019.URL: https://www.diplomatie.gouv.fr/en/country-files/africa/france-in-the-south-west-indian-ocean/ (accessed February 21, 2021).
18 Ministère des Armées, “France and Security of the Indo-Pacific.”
19 Emmanuel Macron, “Discours à Garden Island, Base Navale de Sydney,” Sydney, May 3, 2018, https://www.elysee.fr/emmanuel-macron/2018/05/03/discours-a-garden-island-base-navale-de-sydney.
20 Ministère De L’Intérieur, “Pays Dont La Langue Officielle Est Le Français,” n.d., http://accueil-etrangers.gouv.fr/modeles/articles-lies/article/pays-dont-la-langue-officielle-est.
21 Defence sales excluded.
22 Ministère des Armées, “France and Security of the Indo-Pacific.”
23 The French White Paper on Defence and National Security, (Odile Jacob: New York, 2008), https://www.files.ethz.ch/isn/156934/France_English2008.pdf (accessed February 25, 2021).
24 Ibid.
25 “France’s Defence Strategy in the Indo-Pacific,” Ministère des Armées p. 15, https://www.defense.gouv.fr/content/download/559608/9684004/file/France%27s%20Defence%20Strategy%20in%20the%20Indo-Pacific%20-%202019.pdf (accessed July 24, 2021).
26 Ministère des Armeés, “France and Security of the Indo-Pacific.”
27 Alice Guitton, “What Strategy for France in the Indo-Pacific,” Areion News, May 14, 2020, https://www.areion24.news/2020/05/14/quelle-strategie-pour-la-france-en-indo-pacifique (accessed August 21, 2020).
28 Ministère des Armeés, “France and Security of the Indo-Pacific.”
29 Ibid.
30 “Operation EUNAVFOR MED IRINI”, May 7, 2020, https://www.gouvernement.fr/en/operation-eunavfor-med-irini (accessed July 1, 2021).
31 Andrea Gilli, “France's New Raison d’être in the Indo-Pacific,” in Mind the Gap: National Views of the Free and Open Indo-Pacific, ed. Sharon Sterling, 2019, p. 3, http://www.jstor.com/stable/resrep21474.6 (accessed May 13, 2021).
32 Ministère des Armeés, “France and Security of the Indo-Pacific.”
33 Ibid.
34 Ibid.
35 Agence Française de Developpment (AFD), “AFD and Asia: Supporting Ecological and Social Transitions,” n.d., https://www.afd.fr/en/page-region-pays/asia-and-pacific (accessed July 24, 2021).
36 AFD, “Nos Secteurs d’intervention,” n.d., https://www.afd.fr/fr/nos-secteurs-dintervention (accessed November 30, 2020).
37 Embassy of France, Singapore, “France becomes ASEAN's Newest Development Partner,” September 14, 2020 (accessed December 4, 2020).
38 Ministère de la Defense, “Defence and National Security: Twelve Key Points,” White Paper, 2013, p. 6.
39 Op.cit, “The French White Paper on Defence and National Security,” 214.
40 Ibid., 215.
41 Ibid., 216
42 Le Premier Ministre, “National Strategy for the Security of Maritime Areas,” 2015, https://www.gouvernement.fr/sites/default/files/contenu/piece-jointe/2016/01/strategie_nationale_de_surete_des_espaces_maritimes_en_national_strategy_for_the_security_of_maritime_areas.pdf, 12.
43 Ibid, 13.
44 The French White Paper on Defence and National Security, 215.
45 Ibid.
46 Ibid., 216.
47 “National Strategy for the Security of Maritime Areas,” 2015. https://www.gouvernement.fr/sites/default/files/contenu/piece-jointe/2016/01/strategie_nationale_de_surete_des_espaces_maritimes_en_national_strategy_for_the_security_of_maritime_areas.pdf.
48 Ibid., 31 and 35.
49 “National Strategy for the Security of Maritime Areas,” 3.
50 Ibid.
51 Ibid.
52 Périnel, “L’économie de la mer pèse trois fois celle de l’automobile.”
53 “The Maritime Sector at the Crossroads for France and Norway”, Business France Nordic, February 12, 2019, https://world.businessfrance.fr/nordic/2019/02/12/the-maritime-sector-at-the-crossroads-for-france-and-norway/ (accessed July 24, 2021).
54 Le Premier Ministre, “Stratégie nationale de sûreté des espaces maritimes,” December 10, 2019, https://www.gouvernement.fr/sites/default/files/contenu/piece-jointe/2019/12/snsem_2019_finale.pdf (last accessed on July 25, 2021).
55 Ministère de la Defense, “Defence and National Security.”
56 How this is to be achieved, or what sort of influence is imagined, is not clear, but some conjecture can be made. This may be referring to modernising the armed forces in such a manner that their skills or arms stand out in a multinational operation. However, the same paper also mentions that the pace of defence research and development will be slower than previously.
57 Ibid.
58 Currently, it is about 1.78 per cent of the GDP.
59 Pierre Tran, “Macron Signs French Military Budget into Law: Here's What the Armed Forces are Getting,” Defense News, July 16, 2018, https://www.defensenews.com/global/europe/2018/07/16/macron-signs-french-military-budget-into-law-heres-what-the-armed-forces-are-getting/ (accessed November 5, 2020).
60 Ministère de la Defense, “Defence and National Security.”
61 Ministère Des Armeés, “Rapport au Parlement 2019 sur les exportations d’armement de la France,” Parliament report, June 2020.
62 “France Launches Third Generation SSBN Submarine Programme,” Naval News, February 22, 2021, https://www.naval-technology.com/news/france-third-generation-ssbn-submarine-programme/ (accessed February 23, 2021).
63 Naval Group, “Launching of the Third-Generation of Nuclear Ballistic Missile Submarines Programme,” YouTube, February 23, 2021, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L_qhc4-hWIk (accessed February 23, 2021).
64 Xavier Vavasseur, “French Start Next-Generation Ballistic Nuclear Missile Submarine Program,” USNI News, February 22, 2021, https://news.usni.org/2021/02/22/french-start-next-generation-ballistic-nuclear-missile-submarine-program (accessed February 23, 2021).
65 Ibid.
66 “France's Defence Strategy in the Indo-Pacific”, 17.
67 Dinakar Peri, “Navy Seeks Access to French Base in Djibouti for Refuelling,” The Hindu, April 19, 2019, https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/navy-seeks-access-to-french-base-in-djibouti-for-refuelling/article26881399.ece (accessed July 18m 2021).
68 Ibid. Also see Pradeep Sagar, “Indian, French Submarines Carry Out 35-Hour Long Drill off Djibouti Coast,” The Week, May 25, 2019, https://www.theweek.in/news/india/2019/05/29/indian-french-submarines-carry-out-35-hour-long-drill-off-djibouti-coast.html (accessed July 15, 2021).
69 Vivek Raghuvanshi, “India makes Initial Bid Selections for $7 Billion Submarine Project,” Defense News, January 22, 2020, https://www.defensenews.com/industry/2020/01/22/india-makes-initial-bid-selections-for-7-billion-submarine-project/ (accessed April 20, 2021).
70 Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, “Joint Statement of Enhanced Strategic Partnership between Australia and France,” Australian Government, March 3, 2017, https://www.dfat.gov.au/geo/france/Pages/joint-statement-of-enhanced-strategic-partnership-between-australia-and-france (accessed December 7, 2020).
71 Initially, Japan had been chosen for this contract but eventually, it went to Naval Group.
72 Paul Karp, “France to Build Australia's New Submarine Fleet as $50bn Contract Awarded,” The Guardian, April 26, 2016, https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2016/apr/26/france-to-build-australias-new-submarine-fleet-as-50bn-contract-awarded (last accessed on July 25, 2021).
73 “Macron wants Strategic Paris–Delhi–Canberra Axis amid Pacific Tension”.
74 Florence Parly at 18th Asia Security Summit, the IISS Shangri-La Dialogue, Singapore, 1 June 2019.
75 Ministry of External Affairs, “1st Senior Officials’ India–France–Australia Trilateral Dialogue,” Government of India, September 9, 2020.
76 Harsh Shringla, “Foreign Secretary's Introductory Remarks at the India–France–Japan Workshop on the Indo-Pacific,” Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India, January 19, 2021, https://www.mea.gov.in/Speeches-Statements.htm?dtl/33397/Foreign_Secretarys_Introductory_Remarks_at_the_IndiaFranceJapan_Workshop_on_the_IndoPacific (accessed December 3, 2020).
77 Doherty Ben, “France and Australia can be Heart of New Indo-Pacific Axis, Macron Says,” The Guardian, May 2, 2018, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/may/02/france-and-australia-can-be-heart-of-new-indo-pacific-axis-macron-says (accessed December 4, 2020).
78 Rym Momtaz, “Macron Ends China Visit with Slew of Trade Deals and Green Pact,” Politico, November 6, 2019, https://www.politico.eu/article/emmanuel-macron-ends-china-visit-with-slew-of-trade-deals-and-green-pact/ (accessed December 4, 2020).
79 Stuart Lau, “French President Emmanuel Macron's Visit to China was a Success, but More could have been Achieved, Experts Say,” South China Morning Post, November 7, 2019. [Accessed 4 December 2020]
80 “France Unveils its Defense Strategy in the South China Sea and beyond,” Institute for Maritime and Ocean Affairs, n.d., https://www.imoa.ph/france-unveils-defense-strategy-south-china-sea-beyond/ (accessed 7 December 2020).
81 “How will France's Growing Naval Presence in Asia Affect its China Ties?,” World Politics Review, July 3, 2019, https://www.worldpoliticsreview.com/trend-lines/27908/how-will-france-s-growing-naval-presence-in-asia-affect-its-china-ties (Accessed 10 December 2020).
82 Sagar “Indian, French Submarines Carry Out 35-Hour Long Drill off Djibouti Coast.”
83 “How will France's Growing Naval Presence in Asia Affect its China Ties?”.
84 Ibid.
85 “Macron's Opportunistic Show in Indo-Pacific,” Global Times, May 3, 2018, https://www.globaltimes.cn/content/1100663.shtml (accessed December 10, 2020).
86 Françoise Nicholas, “A Rough Year ahead for the China–France Strategic Partnership,” French Institute of International Relations, February 5, 2021, https://www.ifri.org/en/publications/publications-ifri/articles-ifri/rough-year-ahead-china-france-strategic-partnership (accessed December 10, 2020).
87 Olivier Chambard, “July 14 Spirit Enlivens Relations between France and Indonesia,” The Jakarta Post, July 14, 2020. URL: https://www.thejakartapost.com/paper/2020/07/13/july-14-spirit-enlivens-relations-between-france-and-indonesia.html (accessed July 24, 2021).
88 Erric Permana, “Indonesia, France Hold Joint Naval Exercise,” Anadolu Agency, February 8, 2021, https://www.aa.com.tr/en/asia-pacific/indonesia-france-hold-joint-naval-exercise/2137825. [Accessed 11 December 2020]
89 Eric Permana and Maria Elisa Hospita, “Indonesia, France Agree to Boost Defense Cooperation,” Anadolu Agency, October 23, 2020, https://www.aa.com.tr/en/asia-pacific/indonesia-france-agree-to-boost-defense-cooperation/2016751# (Accessed 11 December 2020).
90 Olivier Chambard, “What France Wishes to do in the Indo-Pacific,” The Jakarta Post, November 26, 2019. URL: https://www.thejakartapost.com/paper/2020/07/13/july-14-spirit-enlivens-relations-between-france-and-indonesia.html (accessed July 24, 2021).
91 Ambassade de France en Thaïlande, “La France devient partenaire de développement de l’Asean,” Le Petite Journal, September 15, 2020. URL https://lepetitjournal.com/bangkok/la-france-devient-partenaire-de-developpement-de-lasean-287983 (accessed December 11, 2020).
92 National Strategy for the Security of Maritime Areas.
93 Ministry of Europe and External Affairs, “Dossier Pays – Sie-Océanie,” Republic of France, June 2018, https://www.diplomatie.gouv.fr/fr/dossiers-pays/asie-oceanie/une-region-strategique-au-regard-des-enjeux-globaux/ (accessed December 5, 2020).
94 Jean-Yves Le Drian, “ASEAN – Approval of France as a Development Partner of the Association of Southeast Asian States – Statement by Jean-Yves Le Drian, Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs,” Ministry of Europe and External Affairs, Republic of France, October 9, 2020.
95 “France Unveils Its Defense Strategy in the South China Sea and Beyond,” Institute for Maritime and Ocean Affairs, https://www.imoa.ph/france-unveils-defense-strategy-south-china-sea-beyond/ (accessed July 25 2021).
96 “Djibouti Code of Conduct,” Maritime Safety Divison, International Maritime Organization, November 2014, N199E, p. 4, https://www.marseccoe.org/marsec/upload/files/201802/5a8d6364963f3-1519215460.pdf (accessed May 13, 2021).
97 European Union, “EU-CRIMARIO,” https://www.crimario.eu/en/ (accessed May 13, 2021).
98 India's increased activities in the Southwest Indian Ocean (especially Mauritius and Seychelles), in what was a nearly French hegemonic stronghold, is indicative that France's special relationships in this region are diminishing. See Isabelle Saint-Mezard, “The French Strategy in the Indian Ocean and the Potential for Indo-French Cooperation,” RSiS Policy Report, March 2015, https://www.files.ethz.ch/isn/189458/PR150312_French-Strategy.pdf (accessed July 18, 2021).
Additional information
Notes on contributors
Amruta Karambelkar
Amruta Karambelkar is research associate with the Indo-Pacific cluster at Vivekananda International Foundation, New Delhi. She is also pursuing PhD from Centre for Indo-Pacific Studies, SIS, Jawaharlal Nehru University. Her interests lie in maritime issues, naval developments and the area focus is Indian Ocean, Southeast Asia and the larger Indo-Pacific region. Her MPhil dissertation examined military build-up of Vietnam and Singapore from 1992 to 2012. She holds a masters degree in political science from University of Pune.