France steps up sea presence

Military counters China in disputed waters with warships and air drills

PARIS: France is increasing its military presence in the IndoPacific region, sending warships through the South China Sea and planning air exercises to help counter China’s military buildup in disputed waters.

Late last month, the French assault ship Dixmude and a frigate sailed through the disputed Spratly Islands and around a group of reefs that China has turned into islets to push back against Beijing’s claim to own most of the resourcerich South China Sea.

“Our patrol involved passing close to these islets to obtain intelligence with all the sensors it is possible to use in international waters,” the Dixmude’s commanding officer,Jean Porcher told reporters.

Writing in The Wall Street Journal, Jonas ParelloPlesner, a researcher from the Hudson Institute thinktank who was an observer on the recent French navy voyage, said “several Chinese frigates and corvettes” tailed the French vessels.

Porcher said the ship maintained “cordial” radio contact with Chinese military vessels, “which were present in the area until we left”.

So far the United States has taken the lead in confronting China over its territorial claims in the South China Sea, which are contested by several neighbours, particularly Vietnam.

But France, which along with Britain is the only European nation to regularly send its navy into the region, has also waded into the dispute, sending its ships into the South China Sea three to five times a year.

In August, the airforce will stage its biggestever exercises in SouthEast Asia as part of a strategy to mark France’s presence in a region that is home to 1.5 million French citizens in the country’s overseas territories.

Three Rafale fighter jets, one A400M troop transporter and a C135 refuelling tanker will fly from Australia to India, with several stopoffs along the way.

The sea and air operations follow a visit by President Emmanuel Macron last month to Australia, where he spoke of the need to protect the IndoPacific region from “hegemony” – a veiled reference to Beijing’s growing might.

He said France, which will be the last country in the European Union after Britain leaves the bloc to have territories in the Pacific, did not want to antagonise China.

But a “strong IndoPacific axis” was needed to ensure respect for freedom of navigation and aviation in the region, he told Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull.

Macron appeared to be “realistically assessing the growing Chinese challenge”, said ParelloPlesner.

“This is a welcome change from his predecessors, who were enthralled by the business and investment opportunities in China.”

Besides protecting navigation, France has cited the need to defend the interests of its citizens scattered across five French territories in the Pacific. — AFP