French and British navies draw closer in the Pacific. Should China worry?

Emanuele Scimia says while France and Britain are jointly stepping up their military presence in regional waters, it’s not a given they will fully back America’s muscular position against China in the South China Sea

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French Minister of the Armed Forces Florence Parly listens to a speech by British defence secretary Gavin Williamson (not pictured) at the fifth plenary session of the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore on Sunday. Franco-British naval cooperation in the region is already a reality, and could grow even further. Photo: EPA-EFE

Published: 1:23pm, 4 Jun 2018Updated: 8:31pm, 4 Jun 2018

French and British top defence officials had some stinging words for China at the annual Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore on Sunday. Despite growing trade tensions between the United States and the European Union, France and Britain voiced strong support for Washington’s efforts to counter Beijing’s military ascendancy in the South China Sea. But theirs is not simple rhetoric. Franco-British naval cooperation in the region is already a reality, and could grow even further.

Paris and London view themselves as legitimate Indo-Pacific powers and are working together to assert the right of free passage in international waters and a rules-based order in the South China Sea. French Defence Ministry Florence Parly said the two countries had a common vision of Asian affairs, and Brexit, Britain’s process to exit from the EU, would not modify that consensus.

In a veiled swipe at China, Parly added that French and British naval forces would sail together through “certain areas” in the South China Sea, where China has conflicting claims with several neighbours, and the US routinely conducts freedom of navigation operations close to the islets, rocks and reefs occupied and militarised by Beijing.

Watch: US Navy continues South China Sea patrols despite Beijing’s opposition

France and the UK are evidently stepping up their military presence in the Indian Ocean and Pacific waters. Parly highlighted that five French ships sailed in this vast region last year, and that Paris aimed to broaden its naval activity there.

For his part, British Defence Minister Gavin Williamson emphasised that the amphibious assault ship HMS Albion, the fleet flagship of the Royal Navy, and the anti-submarine frigate HMS Sutherland were currently deployed in East Asia to ensure maritime security, protect free trade and enforce nuclear-related sanctions on North Korea. In addition, HMS Argyll, another Royal Navy anti-submarine frigate, will be sent to the area later in the year.

HMS Albion joined the French-led Jeanne d’Arc naval task force in the Java Sea in April. The encounter in the Southeast Asian waters was hailed by the British side as a demonstration of the global reach of UK-French maritime collaboration.