INS Viraat and FNS Charles De Gaulle at the Varuna Drills
Image Credits: FranceInIndia | Instagram
May 7, 1954, was deemed as the end of the French Republic in the then known Indo-China and present-day Vietnam after it fell to Ho Chi Minh, the Vietnamese leader. 55 years later, France releases its Indo-Pacific Defence Strategy determined to ensure a free and open Indo-Pacific where trade and movement are striving. France is a sovereign Indo-Pacific power owing to 7 of its overseas territories in the Indian and Pacific Oceans populated with over 1.6 million French citizens and more than 200,000 French expatriates. Unlike any other Western power, the French have the world’s second-largest Exclusive Economic Zones stretching 9 million sq. km is in the Indo-Pacific.
In December 2019, this move by the French Republic was heavily criticized and mocked as being a symbolic gesture equivalent to patrolling a creek in the name of a naval invasion. This move was also claimed to be a vain attempt from the French to reclaim their past grandeur in the region to get over the embarrassments of Indo-China. Most of the International Relations Analysts believed that this move was doomed to fail due to the inability of the French to confront the rising Asian power in China. Additionally, the Chinese authorities criticized this move as an attempt of French to follow the American footsteps in the region.
These criticisms seem to have gone exceptionally wrong with the warming strategic and security relations between India and France. The Indo-French ties have taken a new turn yesterday when India and France initiated the Varuna drills and India’s INS Viraat was pictured participating in these drills with France’s FNS Charles De Gaulle. Furthermore, French Ambassador Emmanuel Lenain quoted this to be a step towards a “free, open, and inclusive Indo-Pacific.” The Indo-French strategic relationship is not just limited to the naval exercises anymore, the recent deals including the controversial Rafael Deal along with both these countries signing the Military Logistics Agreement suggest a large-scale French involvement in the Indo-Pacific amidst Chinese expansionism and authoritarian practices.
Being one of the leaders in Europe France is striving to rally the rest of the European countries towards the Indo-Pacific. This move is not without the European economic interests at stake, one of the prominent driving force for the European powers in the region is a tiny region near Indonesia called the Malacca Straits, Malacca Straits are one of largest transit points for world cargo including the precious black gold that the West has always strived hard for- Oil. Malacca Straits witness the movement of more than 150 ships on a daily basis which transports precious cargo from industrial and business hubs in Asia such as South Korea, Hong Kong, and Japan to the rest of Asia and more importantly, the West.
The French rallying efforts have recently gained momentum after German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas announced his country’s rotation in the direction of Indo-Pacific on September 2nd. The 40-page policy guideline released by Germany aims to “promote a European Indo-Pacific strategy” where it makes “an active contribution to shaping the international order in the Indo-Pacific.” Germany would therefore not pivot towards the Indo-Pacific by itself but would be engaged in spurring a pan-European strategic shift towards the region. The emphasis on human rights and rule of law from the German end is significant, as the policy has factored China’s suppression of the ethnic Uyghur community in its policy shift. The shift in Germany’s geopolitical disposition comes at a time when fear of economic dependence on China, after the Covid-19 pandemic, is overriding Beijing’s allure as a massive market for German goods and services.
“We want to help shape [the future global order] so that it is based on rules and international cooperation, not on the law of the strong,” Maas said.
France pursuing its Indo-Pacific Policy held meetings with foreign ministers of India and Australia in the form of a Trilateral Summit to discuss the Indo-Pacific on September 9th. This comes in light of a renewed momentum for the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, Quad in the Indo-Pacific with Australia, India, Japan, and the United States scheduling their second foreign ministers’ summit for October. France’s role would be exceptional in Quad’s drive to keep the Indo-Pacific open and inclusive in light of Chinese aggression in the South China Sea and its threats against Taiwan.
These dynamic changes in the Indo-Pacific are further fuelled by West’s entry into the region with France spearheading the European intervention with the West finally on the right side of the conflict in this region leaving their colonial history and flashbacks emanating from them in the dust behind as they fight for human rights, rule of law, freedom of seas, and most importantly sovereignty in the Indo-Pacific.
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