France's strategy in the Indo-Pacific
Audio 02:31
Rear Admiral Jean Mathieu Rey, Commander of the Pacific Zone.
© French Navy
By: Franck Alexandre
7 mins
The mission of the French Navy "
Joan of Arc
", which every year allows cadets to do their internship, has set sail for Japan.
Next week, the amphibious helicopter carrier "Tonnerre" accompanied by the frigate "Surcouf" will participate off Okinawa in an exercise with the Japanese Navy and the US Navy.
In recent years, France has been strengthening its military presence in the Indo-Pacific region.
A region which is the scene of major strategic changes.
(Replay of May 9, 2021)
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Before the deputies, on February 19, the Minister of the Armed Forces Florence Parly had not used circumlocution about the People's Republic of China. "
This one
", she had said, "
no longer hesitates to flout the rules of free movement on the seas
". And the Minister of the Armed Forces to evoke the tensions in the China Sea, but "
Beijing
", had specified Florence Parly, "
also invests massively in Indo-Pacific
»Including in the French pre-square. Because the Indo-Pacific is seven of the thirteen overseas departments, regions and communities, a million and a half French nationals live there ... And from Tahiti, where he commands the maritime zone of the Pacific Ocean, Admiral Jean Mathieu Rey, notes the rapid Chinese expansion: “
China is building the equivalent of the French navy every four years, so there is exponential growth. There is clearly a presence and an armament that can pose a threat, but we are seeking to establish a relationship of deconfliction with China. My predecessor had made a trip in this direction to China to see my
alter ego
and my
alter ego
is invited here in Tahiti.
There is a desire to maintain an exchange in order to be able to dispel doubts between operational staff, these are not political relations, they are military relations.
"
From Réunion to Papeete via Nouméa, 7,000 French soldiers are pre-positioned in the Indo-Pacific.
A stable figure;
on the other hand, the axis of effort for the past two years has focused on projections of force from the metropolis and to achieve this, we need points of support and therefore partnerships, insists Admiral Rey: “
The
Charles de Gaulle
in 2019 in the Pacific it was the first time, Operation Marianne and the deployment of the submarine
Emeraude
these last months in the China Sea it was a first time, the Joan of Arc group has already come in 2015 and 2017, it is again in the area this year, the Air Force which is deploying, three missions in three years, this is unprecedented ... For the support points, it is a question of being able to regenerate our crews, supply our buildings, so we have partners throughout the area. We mentioned the stopovers at
Charles de Gaulle
in Singapore, it is not nothing, the units currently release in Vietnam, but also in Brunei, in Indonesia and in the Philippines, so that is the points of support, it is to have partners on which one can to count and it is a constant work since with the pandemic there can be ports or airports which open, which close ... The Pacific, that covers half of the globe so when one deploys that it is under - sailor or fighter plane, we do not move at the same speed, but the distances remain very important. The Pacific is big, it's big
!
"
Since the next wars will be far away, the
Strategic Review
has identified "
power projection
" as one of the "
critical areas
" prioritized for armies.
The recent exercises in the Indo-Pacific are the perfect illustration of this.
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