Enzo Lemesle/Marine Nationale/Défense
A defined space at the centre of rivalries
The term "Indo-Pacific region" originated in the vocabulary of oceanic geography, but since the 2000s it has become part of the vocabulary of geopolitics: with two major powers at its centre, China and India, it covers an area that has become crucial on the global chessboard, and not just for the states in the region.
Geographer and army commissioner Vaimiti Goin points out that two definitions for the Indopacific :
- one, which is maximalist, covers all the countries with at least one coastline on the Indian or Pacific Oceans, from Egypt to Chile, including Russia, New Zealand and Canada. That's ¾ of the world's population (nearly 6 billion), 65 % of the planet's landmass, and nearly half its surface area including the two oceans;
- the other is the one most frequently used in geopolitics: "the Indo-Pacific area refers above all to the shores of Asia and Africa organised around the Chinese and Indian pivot, with Singapore and Malacca as central nodes and Suez and Panama as gateways".
From a strategic point of view, the Indo-Pacific is the area that both separates and connects the two world powers, China and the United States. All the other players are positioning themselves according to this growing bipolar rivalry, in a part of the world where the stakes are many: commercial, security and climate issues in particular.
France, a major regional player
One figure sums up the importance of the Indo-Pacific for France, and the place it holds there: 9 of the 11 million km² of its exclusive economic zone (EEZ - the second largest in the world after the United States) are located there. Around 1.6 million French people live in the 7 overseas collectivities in the Indian Ocean and Pacific, a figure that rises to 2 million if you include expatriates in countries in the region.
What's more, the Indo-Pacific is a key axis of the global economy. France has "vital links of economic interdependence with this region, which is criss-crossed by maritime trade routes linking the largest demographic and economic groupings of the 21st century".e century", summarises the Ministry of the Armed Forces.
To protect its nationals and monitor its EEZ, France maintains 5 military commands in the Indo-Pacific, with a total of 7,000 personnel permanently deployed, plus 700 sailors for one-off missions. A network of 18 defence attachés ensures cooperation with other States.
Actions "in association" with the States in the zone
During his speech At the Shangri-La Dialogue on 11 June 2022, the French Minister for the Armed Forces, Sébastien Lecornu, made it clear: "France's strategy in the Indo-Pacific is not directed against any State. It is implemented in full partnership with the States in the area. France is contributing to the stability of the region by developing partnerships, with the aim of building greater autonomy and development together."
France's actions in this area are based on four pillars: security and defence; the economy, connectivity, research and innovation; multilateralism and the rule of law; and climate change, biodiversity and sustainable ocean management.
In addition to respect for its territorial integrity, the first pillar is reflected in numerous multilateral or bilateral operations, made necessary by the changing geopolitical context: "The strategic rivalry between China and the United States is shaping the security dynamics in this region, where it is forcing States to deal with new threats and influences", points out the Ministry of Defence in a summary of the French defence strategy in the Indo-Pacific adopted in 2019. "In particular, many regimes have invested in strengthening their defence capabilities, leading to a tougher military environment."
The same document highlights "the endurance of transnational threats such as piracy, illegal fishing, transnational organised crime, illegal immigration and jihadist terrorism. The entire Indo-Pacific region is also exposed to increased security risks as a result of global warming".
France is therefore strengthening its partnerships, in particular with the United States, Australia, India and Japan, but also with the countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), which it is helping to strengthen their strategic autonomy. In this way, it is seeking to counter the disintegration of the international order based on law, and to maintain multilateralism as far as possible.
Between alliances and rivalries, maintaining multilateralism
France, a major Indo-Pacific nation with a strong presence and influence in the region, is seeking to maintain a balance between three categories of countries:
- those seeking to counter Chinese influence: the United States, India, Japan, Australia and the United Kingdom;
- those (of which she is one) who want to integrate Chinese influence: Canada, the European Union, Germany, the Netherlands, etc.
- and China itself, which rejects the concept of the Indo-Pacific and sees any strategy in this area as an attempt to contain its power.
In September 2021, the creation of the Aukus alliance (Australia, United Kingdom, United States) and its first consequence, the cancellation of a gigantic contract for the sale of French submarines to the first of these countries, were seen as a setback for this French strategy of balance. But in Paris in July 2022, Anthony Albanese, Australia's Prime Minister under the new Labour majority, and Emmanuel Macron insisted on the need to forge "a new defence relationship" between their two countries, based in particular on "operational engagement and intelligence sharing", and on their desire to increase cooperation between their defence industries.
A few weeks earlier, at the end of April, China had announced the signing of a security pact with the Solomon Islands, raising fears that a naval base would soon be built there. China's strategy of forging alliances with micro-States in the Pacific is all the more worrying for Western countries as the Middle Kingdom's designs on the Republic of Taiwan become more insistent.
More than ever, the Indo-Pacific represents a priority for France.
