On Aug. 1, French President Emmanuel Macron signed into law France’s largest defense budget increase in 50 years. Since the French parliament passed this seven-year military spending program earlier last month, the world has been paying attention to Paris’ strategic planning.
The law emphasizes the role of France as a superpower in the Indo-Pacific region, and states that France would defend freedom of navigation in the region — including the South China Sea and the Taiwan Strait — according to the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. The purpose is to maintain peace and stability in nearby areas.
As a leading country, France is the first to enact laws to protect freedom of navigation in the Taiwan Strait. Obviously, Paris’ strategic planning is a warning to Beijing.
In Western Europe, France is the largest country and has the most powerful military. For a long time, the French government’s strategic planning has been focused on dealing with Russia.
However in recent years, confronted by the ever-changing political environment and multiple challenges to global safety, such as terrorist attacks, nuclear proliferation activities and a series of complex threats, particularly China’s military expansion and its provocative actions against Taiwan, France has to be more vigilant and demonstrate its strength in diplomatic maneuvers and military endeavors.
For instance, over the past few years at G7 summits, bilateral meetings, two-plus-two meetings or multilateral meetings, France frequently brought up the significance of maintaining peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait.
Paris’ seven-year military program has a budget of 413 billion euros (US$446 billion), the highest in history. By 2025, France’s military spending would rise to more than 2 percent of GDP.
In the near future, the French government plans to improve its warfare capabilities in newer realms such as the Internet, outer space and undersea. It aims to protect the safety of its homeland and overseas territories, while enhancing the capability of the French armed forces to fight and intervene in potential conflicts. To protect the safety of the Indo-Pacific region and the Taiwan Strait, it is possible that France might send its troops to the aforementioned areas.
In April, French Senate Vice President Alain Richard, a former French minister of defense, led a delegation to Taiwan.
When he was interviewed by France Info, he made clear the stance of the French government: He believes that the situation in the Taiwan Strait should remain unchanged. If China invades Taiwan, it is highly likely that France would collaborate with the US and carry out joint operations.
In other words, the French government would align with the US and support Taiwan with all its might.
It is obvious that France’s recent strategic planning to ensure safety in the Indo-Pacific region is directed at China. In 2021, France sent troops to Japan for joint military drills on land and sea with Japan and the US. In February last year, foreign ministers from the EU and the Indo-Pacific region gathered in Paris for the Ministerial Forum for Cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region.
Then-French minister for Europe and foreign affairs Jean-Yves Le Drian, in an interview with Nikkei Asia, said that France would be ready to take action to maintain stability in the Taiwan Strait.
In April, a week after China carried out its military exercises around Taiwan, a French naval warplane passed through the Taiwan Strait, and the world paid great attention.
Taiwan occupies the most significant position in the first island chain, a location that is also critical to strategic mapping in the Indo-Pacific region. In short, Taiwan plays a major role in maintaining the safety of the region, and its importance cannot be emphasized enough. For France, keeping the Taiwan Strait peaceful and stable corresponds to its own interests. Peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait means that the Indo-Pacific region would be kept free, open, stable and prosperous.
As an important democratic country and a significant part of the Indo-Pacific region, Taiwan must collaborate with France and other countries that share the same values. They should work together to keep the Taiwan Strait safe and maintain the world order based on international laws.
Yao Chung-yuan is an adjunct professor and former deputy director of the Ministry of National Defense’s strategic planning department.
Translated by Emma Liu
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