The Taiwan Strait is international waters, and France would sail through it if it deems such action necessary, a French naval commander said in an interview with a Tahitian newspaper on Thursday.
During the interview with the French-language Tahiti Infos, Rear Admiral Jean-Mathieu Rey, joint commander of the French Armed Forces in the Asia-Pacific, spoke about tensions between France and China, as well as France’s cooperation with Southeast Asian countries.
Chinese aggression in the Indo-Pacific region is increasing, and Chinese military vessels and aircraft have frequently contravened international rules, he said.
Photo: Screen grab from the Twitter account of the French Armed Forces in the Asia-Pacific
The issue is of growing concern to France due to its territories in the region, which are home to 2 million French nationals spread over an area of 9 million square kilometers, he said.
This is also the reason the French military is present in the Indo-Pacific region, he added.
Asked how France should respond to China’s increasingly frequent territorial claims in the Asia-Pacific region, Rey said that when China or other countries make erroneous assertions, the first priority is to respond immediately.
For example, China recently claimed to have “sovereign rights” over the Taiwan Strait, which is “completely wrong,” as the Taiwan Strait is “an international strait,” Rey said, adding that the only waters under Chinese sovereignty are the 12 nautical miles (22km) from its shores that constitute its territorial waters.
“So the first thing is to react to these assertions ... [including through] the presence of vessels and aircraft to see what is happening there and to reaffirm freedom of navigation,” he said. “So when we need to go through places like the Taiwan Strait, we don’t hesitate to do so.”
Despite its interests in the region, Rey said the French Navy has regularly encountered harassment through illegal actions by the Chinese military.
France is in the process of strengthening its naval presence at its overseas territories, and plans to have two new naval vessels based at each of Reunion island, Tahiti and New Caledonia by 2025, he said.
The country was also in the process of replacing 12 of its Falcon 200 Guardian maritime surveillance aircraft with the newer Falcon 2000 Albatros, he said, adding that the newer aircraft would be instrumental in helping France deter illegal fishing and drug smuggling by Chinese vessels near its territories.
In addition to enhancing its military presence at home, France would also cooperate with partners including the US, Japan and countries in Southeast Asia, he added.
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