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.
Rainfall is expected to become more widespread and persistent across central and southern Taiwan over the next few days, with the effects of the weather patterns becoming most prominent between last night and tomorrow, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Independent meteorologist Daniel Wu (吳德榮) said that based on the latest forecast models of the combination of a low-pressure system and southwesterly winds, rainfall and flooding are expected to continue in central and southern Taiwan from today to Sunday. The CWA also warned of flash floods, thunder and lightning, and strong gusts in these areas, as well as landslides and fallen
WAITING GAME: The US has so far only offered a ‘best rate tariff,’ which officials assume is about 15 percent, the same as Japan, a person familiar with the matter said Taiwan and the US have completed “technical consultations” regarding tariffs and a finalized rate is expected to be released soon, Executive Yuan spokeswoman Michelle Lee (李慧芝) told a news conference yesterday, as a 90-day pause on US President Donald Trump’s “reciprocal” tariffs is set to expire today. The two countries have reached a “certain degree of consensus” on issues such as tariffs, nontariff trade barriers, trade facilitation, supply chain resilience and economic security, Lee said. They also discussed opportunities for cooperation, investment and procurement, she said. A joint statement is still being negotiated and would be released once the US government has made
MASSIVE LOSS: If the next recall votes also fail, it would signal that the administration of President William Lai would continue to face strong resistance within the legislature The results of recall votes yesterday dealt a blow to the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) efforts to overturn the opposition-controlled legislature, as all 24 Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers survived the recall bids. Backed by President William Lai’s (賴清德) DPP, civic groups led the recall drive, seeking to remove 31 out of 39 KMT lawmakers from the 113-seat legislature, in which the KMT and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) together hold a majority with 62 seats, while the DPP holds 51 seats. The scale of the recall elections was unprecedented, with another seven KMT lawmakers facing similar votes on Aug. 23. For a
SOUTH CHINA SEA? The Philippine president spoke of adding more classrooms and power plants, while skipping tensions with China over disputed areas Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr yesterday blasted “useless and crumbling” flood control projects in a state of the nation address that focused on domestic issues after a months-long feud with his vice president. Addressing a joint session of congress after days of rain that left at least 31 dead, Marcos repeated his recent warning that the nation faced a climate change-driven “new normal,” while pledging to investigate publicly funded projects that had failed. “Let’s not pretend, the people know that these projects can breed corruption. Kickbacks ... for the boys,” he said, citing houses that were “swept away” by the floods. “Someone has
RSS