Rear Admiral Jacques Fayard, the Joint Commander of the French Forces in the Indian Ocean (ALIDIEN) spoke on the topic “French Strategy for the Indo-Pacific Region” on 23 February 2022 at 1700h in the MP-IDSA Auditorium. The talk was chaired by Ambassador Sujan R. Chinoy, the Director General, MP-IDSA. The event was attended by Maj. Gen. (Dr.) Bipin Bakshi (Retd), the Deputy Director General, Scholars of MP-IDSA and delegates from France. The talk was also live-streamed on YouTube.

Executive Summary

France’s interests in the Indo-Pacific are driven by its status as a resident power of the region with its overseas territories of Mayotte, Réunion, New Caledonia, French Polynesia, Clipperton, Wallis and Futuna and French Antarctic stretched across the Indian and the Pacific Oceans. These territories constitute the majority of France’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) which is the second largest in the World and home to 1.57 million French citizens. Apart from having its sovereign territories and population, France has enormous economic stakes in the Indo-Pacific with one-third of exports and 40% of imports from non-EU countries transiting through the region. As a result of this France has a substantial military presence of seven thousand personnel deployed permanently in the region based across its overseas territories and host nations such as UAE and Djibouti. The evolving strategic dynamics of the Indo-Pacific are shaped by the strategic competition between China and the U.S, which has resulted in the proliferation of military capabilities and is bound to affect the security balance of the region. France’s regional priorities in the Indo-Pacific include preserving Freedom of Navigation (FoN), protecting Sea Lanes of Communication (SLOC), preventing environmental degradation, combating terrorism, narcotics trafficking and piracy in the Indo-Pacific.

These priorities have been underscored by the Macron led French Government’s commitment to support the peaceful resolution of conflict, contribute to regional peace, protect regional state sovereignty and take action against climate change. France intends to actively contribute to multilateral efforts in the Indo-Pacific for protecting the global commons, promoting a rules-based international order, preserving strategic balance, combating transnational terrorism and addressing the proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD).  France aims to strengthen its military capabilities in the region by increasing vigilance through the regular deployment of naval assets, greater sharing of intelligence with partner nations and providing a multi-dimensional response to any threat to its interests in the region. France already has been playing a major role in combating piracy in the region through its participation in the European Union Naval Force (EU NAVFOR) and Combined Task Force-150 (CTF-150) deployed near the Gulf of Aden. France aims to maintain a privileged defence relationship with India by supporting its ‘Make in India’ Initiative and enhancing cooperation to improve interoperability between the respective naval assets. The EU’s strategy in the Indo-Pacific is complementary to France’s own strategy for the region. The bilateral strategic relationship with India is a key element of France’s strategy for the Indo-Pacific.

Detailed Report 

Ambassador Sujan R. Chinoy welcomed the forum by extending his warm wishes to Rear Admiral Jacques Fayard for addressing the scholars of MP-IDSA. He stated that France has shown a renewed interest in the Indo-Pacific as a resident power of the region. Its overseas territories in the region give France the World’s second largest EEZ. The Director General pointed out that France’s presence in Abu Dhabi and Djibouti gives it critical access to major chokepoints such as Strait of Hormuz and Bab-el-Mandeb. He also brought out that France is a member of the Indian Ocean Commission (IOC), Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA), Indian Ocean Naval Symposium (IONS) and CTF-150. The Director General highlighted the fact that the Indian and the Pacific Oceans are increasingly becoming intertwined not only in terms of energy and trade flows but also in terms of a wider technological, ideological and territorial contestation that has emerged in recent times. He underscored the growing concerns regarding telecommunications, 5G, environmental degradation and safety of critical supply chains in the region. The Director General stated that from an Indian perspective, France’s presence and participation in the emerging geoeconomic and geostrategic architecture of the Indo-Pacific is regarded as a positive factor. Attributing to India’s unique geographic location in the Indo-Pacific, he stated that India has growing trade, economic and strategic interests in the region.

The Director General reiterated the fact that India like other like-minded nations including France supports Freedom of Navigation (FoN) and overflights for unimpeded commerce on the high seas. Citing Hon’ble Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s participation in the One Ocean Summit organised by France and India’s support to the French Initiative for an ambitious international coalition for protecting bio-diversity on high seas beyond national jurisdiction, the Director General remarked that these developments indicate the growing strategic convergences between India and France.  He stated that the cooperation between the two nations has deepened across the board.  Referring to the recent visit of Hon’ble Foreign Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar’s visit to Paris where the Indo-French Roadmap on the Blue Economy and Ocean Governance was concluded, the Director General stated it is a reflection of the shared interest in climate change, health of the oceans, sustainable development, international law and infrastructure development. He brought out that as a major economic power, France has played a key role in the evolution of the EU’s Indo-Pacific strategy which has been reflected through France’s participation in the Information Fusion Centre – Indian Ocean Region (IFC-IOR) situated in Gurugram, India. He remarked that there is greater scope for collaboration between India and France in the areas of countering radicalisation, terrorism and piracy. He highlighted the prospects of emerging opportunities for Indo-French defense cooperation in the regions like the Gulf of Guinea and Francophone Africa. With these opening remarks, Ambassador Chinoy welcomed Rear Admiral Jacques Fayard to deliver his talk on “French Strategy for the Indo-Pacific Region”.

Rear Admiral Jacques Fayard, began his talk by focusing on the fact that seven of the thirteen French overseas territories are situated across the Indo-Pacific and 1.57 million French citizens live in these territories. He stated that due to this fact France’s interests in the Indo-Pacific are dictated by the presence of its own sovereign territories and population in the region. He underscored that these geographic factors make France a coastal state and a resident maritime power of the Indo-Pacific. Pointing out the French Islands of Mayotte, Réunion, New Caledonia, Wallis and Futuna, French Polynesia, Clipperton Island, French Southern and Antarctic Territories, Admiral Fayard stated that the expanse of its overseas territories spanning across the region represent nine million square kilometres of the total eleven million square kilometres of French EEZ. He informed that that seven thousand French Military personnel have been permanently deployed throughout the Indo-Pacific region including the French bases in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Djibouti. Taking into account that the Indo-Pacific has become the world’s demographic and economic centre of gravity with 60% of the global population, 17 of the world’s 20 largest harbours and 75% of global maritime trade, Admiral Fayard stated that the region has acquired enormous geostrategic significance. He brought out that the vital maritime routes that connect Indonesia to Madagascar, Oman to Singapore, Japan to Australia and China to Polynesia are situated in the Indo-Pacific which makes the protection of Sea Lanes of Communication (SLOC) a vital component of the security of this region.

Admiral Fayard stated that France as an Indo-Pacific nation is a direct stakeholder in the economic interconnectivity of the region. Taking into account that more than one-third of France’s exports and more than 40% of imports from non-EU countries transit through the Indo-Pacific, he stated France has enormous economic stakes in the region due to which the French Government has assumed its responsibility to contribute to the region’s maritime security. Explaining the strategic dynamics of the Indo-Pacific, Admiral Fayard said that despite financial and economic interdependence, the U.S and China are engaging in global strategic competition and its effects are now manifesting in the region. The evolution of the strategic dynamics in the Indo-Pacific induced new alignments and has spurred the need to rethink defence policy. In this context, Admiral Fayard stated that the majority of the Indo-Pacific countries have increased investments in procurement of advanced military assets to improve their coastal defence capabilities and implement long-range area denial. The proliferation of such military capabilities will significantly affect the security balance of the Indo-Pacific. Explaining the French Strategy for the Indo-Pacific Admiral Fayard cited the French President Emmanuel Macron’s Garden Island Speech of 2018, where he underlined France’s four key commitments in the Indo-Pacific Region which are:

• To support the peaceful resolution of conflict.
• To contribute to regional peace and security.
• The responsibility to protect regional stated sovereignty.
• The need to take action against Climate Change.

Citing the evolving security dynamics of the Indo-Pacific, Admiral Fayard stated that France needs to cope with new risks and threats facing its interests and of its partners in the region. He informed that France intends to carry out an autonomous and sovereign action from its overseas territories for actively contributing to the multilateral efforts in the Indo-Pacific focused on:

• Protecting the global commons.
• Promoting a rules-based international order.
• Rejecting unilateral ambitions that may threaten FoN.
• Preserving strategic balances.
• Combating transnational terrorism.
• Addressing the proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destructions (WMD).
• Countering interference operations aimed at eroding the legitimacy of a democratic regime.

Admiral Fayard highlighted that France’s key priorities in the Indo-Pacific are the protection of its overseas territories, citizens and EEZs. He stated that France resolves to address this priority by entering into military and security cooperation with its partners in the Indo-Pacific that will provide France with greater strategic depth to operate in the region. Underscoring the need to enhance its military capabilities in the region, Admiral Fayard emphasised the need to strengthen the three key domains which are as follows:

• Knowledge and Anticipation: this domain implies the exercise of increased vigilance with regard to regional security development that may have a direct or indirect impact on France’s sovereign spaces. He stated this requires the regular deployment of air and naval assets which will reinstate France’s commitment to the region and support the efforts of its allies and partners in the Indo-Pacific.
• Protection: This is ensured through a more assertive presence and better sharing of maritime information in France’s sovereign spaces. This would involve anticipating the developments of new threats and sending strong messages to deter strategies of coercion.
• Prevention: This domain involves closer cooperation with the French Department of the State to provide the necessary multi-dimensional responses to any risk and threat to France’s interests in the region.

Admiral Fayard brought out that in order to strengthen these domains, the French overseas military forces are engaging in training exercises with regional partners for enhancement of strategic intelligence capacities and projection of naval capabilities for demonstrating France’s credibility and assurance towards its partners. Pointing to France’s binding defence agreements with UAE and Djibouti he said that they enabled France to deploy its drone capabilities to secure the SLOC and combat piracy in Bab-el-Mandeb Strait. Admiral Fayard also referred to France’s prominent role in the EU NAVFOR which has been successfully countering piracy in the sea off  the coast of the Horn of Africa and protecting 25% of the global maritime traffic that transits through the region. He also cited France’s leading role in anti-narcotic operations, the protection of strategic chokepoints and increasing Maritime Domain Awareness (MDA) in the Gulf region.  He categorically stated that France rejects any maritime claim that is not compliant with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). He brought out that France shares common concerns with India, the U.S., Japan and Australia regarding the emerging challenges in the Indo-Pacific region. Admiral Fayard stated that the strategic partnership that France has established with these four nations is crucial to preserve stability in the Indo-Pacific region.

Referring to France’s bilateral relations with India, Admiral Fayard said that France aims at maintaining a privileged defence relationship with India guaranteeing the strategic autonomy of both countries. He said that France fully supports India’s ‘Make in India’ initiative and aims to contribute jointly to Indian Ocean security through developing bilateral cooperation both at the strategic and operational levels. He highlighted France’s regular naval exercises with India to mutually enhance both nations’ naval capabilities in the areas of carrier-borne operations, Anti-Submarine Operations (ASW), submarine warfare and HADR operations. He said France as a leading maritime power will play an important role in combating terrorism, narcotics, climate change and Illegal Unreported Unregulated (IUU) fishing in the region. He stated that EU policies in the Indo-Pacific are complimentary to France’s interests in the region. He also gave his view that the EU needs to have a greater presence in the Indo-Pacific and ensure better coordination among its naval deployments. Admiral Fayard concluded his talk by stating that the bilateral strategic relationship with India is key for the success of France’s strategy in the Indo-Pacific region.

During the Q&A session, responding to a question posed by Cmde. Abhay K. Singh on the probable change in the structure and composition of the French Deployment in the Indo-Pacific, Admiral Fayard said due to geostrategic and geoeconomic significance of the region France is looking forward towards dynamic force employment to secure its interests in the region. Answering a question posed by Col. Vivek Chadha on how does France view partnership with India to address common concerns in the Indian Ocean region (IOR), he stated that the dynamics of defence cooperation with India are very vivid and France is focused on developing interoperability between the two nations by engaging in joint military exercises. Responding to a question posed by Capt. Anurag Bisen on the other nations that France would like to engage in littoral cooperation in the IOR, he stated that apart from India, nations like Bangladesh and Sri Lanka offer prospects in capacity building in the maritime domain.

Answering a question posed by Ms. Ruchita Beri on the prospects of Indo-French defence cooperation in the Western Indian Ocean and Africa, Admiral Fayard stated that currently, the French and Indian Frigates are carrying out coordinated patrol in the region. Responding to a question by Col. D.P.K Pillay on France’s independent stance on security apart from the NATO and EU’s influence, he said that France as a P5 member and a nuclear power has an autonomous and independent perspective on global security issues. To Col. R.P. Singh’s question on the scope of France cooperating with Australia on maritime security issues in the Pacific, Admiral Fayard stated that France works on a regular basis and has long-standing security agreements with Australia and New Zealand for the security of the Pacific Region. Responding to the final question posed by Dr. Anand Kumar on whether France is concerned about the growing Chinese presence in the IOR, Admiral Fayard stated as a P5 member China must ensure FoN in the region for all nations to have unimpeded access to the global commons in the region.

The Vote of Thanks was given by Dr. Swasti Rao, Associate Fellow, MP-IDSA.

Key Takeaways –

• France’s interests in the Indo-Pacific are driven by its status as a resident power of the region.
• France has enormous economic stakes in the region due to which the French Government has assumed the responsibility to contribute to the region’s maritime security.
• Already France has a substantial military presence of seven thousand personnel deployed permanently in the region who are based across its overseas territories and host nations such as UAE and Djibouti.
• France aims to fulfil its strategic commitments in the Indo-Pacific by entering into military and security cooperation with its partners in the region.
• The EU’s strategy in the Indo-Pacific is complimentary to the French strategy in the region.
• The bilateral strategic relationship with India is a key aspect of the French strategy in the Indo-Pacific region.

Report Prepared by Dr. R.Vignesh, Research Analyst, Military Affairs Centre, MP-IDSA

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