After the shock of the announcement of the tripartite “Ocus” security treaty

France is seeking to consolidate its presence in the Indo-Pacific region

Asian doubts about the power that France might project in the Indo-Pacific compared to great powers such as Washington and Beijing.

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More than a year has passed since the conclusion of the Okus Tripartite Security Treaty between the United States, Australia and the United Kingdom, and the ensuing diplomatic crisis between France and Australia.

After the initial shock caused by the OCCOS announcement, France had no choice but to reformulate its Indo-Pacific Partnership policy.

The dispute has not only spoiled the bilateral relationship between Paris and Canberra, but also complicated France's plans in the region, said Dr. Jean-Loup Samann, a research fellow at the National University of Singapore's Middle East Institute and a non-resident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council.

Although the French discontent was initially read by the media as a trade dispute over the cancellation of Australia's multibillion-dollar order for submarines from France's Naval Group, the deal was just one component of a broader strategy to cement France's presence in the Indo-Pacific region. .

Until September 2021, this strategy was supposed to be based on two pillars.

France's rapprochement with India laid the foundation for the 'Indian Ocean', while the partnership with Australia represented the pillar of the 'Pacific Ocean'.

Saman, a former political advisor at the French Ministry of Defense and NATO, added in a report published by the American magazine "The National Interest", that since the Okus conflict, France's involvement in the Indo-Pacific region has taken many forms.

On the bilateral level, one of the most important developments has been France's rapprochement with Indonesia.

On the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly session last September, French diplomats met with their counterparts from India and Australia to revive that framework.

Although bilateral consultations may continue, there is no expectation at this time that France will reconsider the partnership with Canberra as a pillar of France's Indo-Pacific strategy.

Saman added that the interesting thing was that another tripartite meeting took place during the UN plenary session last September in New York.

France's Indo-Pacific strategy has also become more ambitious on a multilateral level.

In the past two years, Paris has deepened its involvement in regional organizations. In 2020, it became an official member of the Association of Countries Rim of the Indian Ocean (Iora), and in November 2022, France obtained the status of an observer state at the meetings of defense ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). ASEAN).

The goal of France's Indo-Pacific strategy is not to confront China, but to foster partnerships that focus on common interests rather than common threats.

Such French rhetoric is considered an almost veiled criticism of the American position, which is seen in Paris (as well as in some Asian capitals) as seeking to polarize to a very large extent.

Asian policy-making circles remain skeptical about the military and economic power that a country like France can project in the Indo-Pacific when compared to great powers such as Washington and Beijing.

France is well aware of the need to address this credibility gap, and last year announced new deployments of naval forces to bolster its presence in Asian waters.

And no one in Paris is under the illusion that France can match American and Chinese capabilities.

Instead, the goal is to preserve enough resources to make the Central Asian powers consider the French proposal a real alternative.

For France to position itself as an alternative foreign policy player to the United States is a difficult project.

Ultimately, the credibility of France's capabilities and intentions is a related issue, and perhaps the key to its resolution lies in its ability to implement its strategy for the Indo-Pacific region.

Under this approach, Saman explained, the EU would provide resources that France could not provide on its own, potentially bolstering Europe's ability to act as a real alternative to competition between the United States and China.

Samann concluded his report by saying that for French diplomats this means they have to keep the EU engaged in Asia at a time when it is focused on the war in Ukraine.

• For France to position itself as an alternative foreign policy player to the United States is a difficult project.

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