South China Sea: how the French navy is charting its own course between China and the US
- France prepares to send amphibious assault ship and frigate to pass through disputed waters in its annual Jeanne d’Arc military mission
- Military observers say Beijing has been restrained in its reaction
According to observers, the moves could be seen as France implementing its 2019 Indo-Pacific Strategy, which calls for it to increase its presence in the region and defend freedom of navigation and the rules-based international order.
The warships will avoid passing through the Taiwan Strait, a flashpoint in US-China tensions, but it appears the French side is not ruling out changing its route.
When asked if he was planning to transit via the Taiwan Strait, Captain Arnaud Tranchant told Naval News he respected international law and the sovereignty of the territories near the path the French navy was taking, but had “not yet traced our roads in this area”.
“[Not passing the Taiwan Strait] would indeed be a positive gesture to do so,” said Antoine Bondaz, research fellow at the Foundation for Strategic Research.
“This is what I label as a systematic strategy of ‘invisibilising’ Taiwan,” Bondaz said, adding there was a form of self-censorship among European decision makers regarding Taiwan.
“There is a need for the Europeans to be much more explicit in their opposition against a unilateral change of the status quo in the strait by China.”
In April 2019, a French warship passed through the Taiwan Strait, a rare move for a European country, infuriating Beijing. As a result, China notified France it was no longer invited to a naval parade to mark the 70th anniversary of the founding of China’s navy, according to Reuters.
If France chooses not to sail through the Taiwan Strait this time, “this could definitely be seen as an attempt by Paris to balance its strategic objective of defending freedom of navigation in the region while trying to prevent a souring of relations with Beijing,” said Helena Legarda, a senior analyst at the Mercator Institute for China Studies.
Experts say Beijing has so far been restrained towards French navigation in the South China Sea.
Asked about the French nuclear attack submarine’s mission, foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said: “China always respects the freedom of navigation.”
However, Wang said China opposed any attempt to undermine its sovereignty and security and disrupt regional peace and tranquillity under the pretext of “freedom of navigation”.
Sun Keqin, research fellow at the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations, said it was clear the French operation was partly in “cooperation with the United States”, which China was “not happy” to see and prompted Beijing’s vigilance.
“But this is different from US operations entering China’s territorial waters and provoking China,” Sun said, adding that the distinction with the French operation included a strategic partnership between China and France and overall China-European Union relations.
“Our response is restrained and at the same time we have issued a warning, hoping that the French navy will not go further,” Sun said.
Legarda also highlighted the lack of a strong response from China to France’s increased military presence in the region in recent months.
“It could also be read as a sign that Beijing is exercising restraint to avoid antagonising Europe amid its ongoing tensions with the US,” she said.
But there was resistance from the French side.
French President Emmanuel Macron renewed an appeal for European “strategic autonomy” from the US, sending the signal for Europe not to be too dependent on the United States.
Macron’s response was clearly welcomed by Beijing.
“France’s South China Sea voyage is not surprising, it is based on its judgment of strategic autonomy. However, on the most core issues, France may not follow the United States,” said Zhao Junjie, an expert in European studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.
French warships sailing in the South China Sea is not new and its operations are more frequent than any other European country.
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According to observers, France is signalling it is ready to contest China’s territorial claims in the South China Sea, in cooperation with partners such as the US, Australia and Japan.
Sun Keqin said that although France was not as strong militarily as other countries such as the United States, the French were trying to show military strength.
“Since Biden took office, he has been continuously putting pressure on European countries … France cooperated with the actions of the United States and demonstrated its military presence in the South China Sea,” Sun said.
“A greater French military presence in the region is bound to draw Beijing’s anger, especially if it is seen as part of a coordinated Western pushback against China,” Legarda said.
French warships sailed through the South China Sea as part of the Jeanne d’Arc mission from 2015 to 2017, and the following year were joined in the disputed waterway by vessels from Britain’s Royal Navy.
Bondaz said the French position was clear: to promote a free, open, inclusive and rules-based Indo-Pacific. France’s aim was to neither support US policy nor to oppose the Chinese policy, but to remind every country of basic principles.
“The French policy is balanced and coherent with previous policies,” he said. “This is not against China, this is for our interests.”
