France's Indo-Pacific Strategy

French President Emmanuel Macron will begin a state visit to Vietnam, Indonesia, and Singapore on May 26 to consolidate France's "Indo-Pacific strategy."

The Elysée Palace explained to reporters that in the current context where the Asia-Pacific region is caught between the U.S. and China, Washington's imposition of extremely powerful trade taxes through Trump exerts pressure, while Paris hopes to position itself as a "reliable" and "respected" partner for these countries' "sovereignty" and "independence."

Undoubtedly, the Indian Ocean-Pacific region (simply referred to as the Indo-Pacific) is today's geopolitical focal point. This regional concept plays an increasingly important role in the strategies of all nations with interests in the Indian Ocean and Pacific. This name represents a coveted strategic area, now becoming a symbol separating the two main competitors, the U.S. and China.

Geographical Concept

Mr. Vaimiti Goin, a French geopolitician, believes that as a geographical concept, the Indo-Pacific region refers to the area extending from the eastern coast of Africa to the eastern Pacific, forming a continuous belt between the Indian Ocean and Pacific Ocean, covering more than half of the Earth's surface and three-quarters of the world's population. At the same time, it is an ideological concept reflecting observations of China's rise and geopolitical vision.

The term "Indo-Pacific" was originally used in marine biogeography to refer to the tropical and subtropical regions of the western Indian Ocean and Pacific Ocean. It did not enter the field of geopolitics until the early 21st century, reflecting the geopolitical and geo-economic reality of the global economic and political center shifting from the Atlantic to the Pacific. This shift has been ongoing since the 1980s, accompanied by the rise of two emerging major powers, China and India, and their strengthened spheres of influence, especially after China proposed and implemented its global "Belt and Road Initiative" in 2013.

Another view holds that the Indo-Pacific region is a vast area including both the Indian Ocean and Pacific Ocean and their inland land areas, extending from the Asia-Pacific region to the Middle East, Africa, and the coasts of the Americas. However, the boundaries of this region are not precise: in a broad sense, the Indo-Pacific region may include the continental countries of Asia, thus including countries like Mongolia. In its broadest definition, it includes 5.83 billion residents, nearly three-quarters of the world's population, covering half of the earth's land surface.

But he believes that such a broad definition corresponding to the letters of the Indo-Pacific name, considering its scope, does not have much use unless it aligns with the global strategies of certain actors or the desire to refocus the world map on Asia and place the Atlantic region at the edge of the star chart.

Geopolitical Concept

The extreme geographical definition of the Indo-Pacific does not match the commonly used meaning in international relations. Geopolitically, the Indo-Pacific region mainly refers to the coastal areas of Asia and Africa centered around Singapore and the Malacca Strait, with the Suez and Panama canals as channels, with China and India as pivots.

In addition, although the geographic scope covered by the "Indo-Pacific" concept is very extensive, the countries implementing the "Indo-Pacific" strategy do not attach equal importance to all parts of this space. Therefore, the author of the article concluded through overlaying different definitions generated from various strategic documents of the studied countries that this is a space with variable geometric shapes, whose core consists of India, China, Southeast Asia, and Australia.

Different Focus of Each Country's Indo-Pacific Strategy

For other countries, establishing a strategy focused on the Indo-Pacific region is also to respond to the increasing bipolarization between China and the U.S. within the region and avoid taking sides in this confrontation.

Thus, the Indo-Pacific region is the subject of specific defense and diplomatic policy strategies for many countries (including those outside the region). These different strategies reflect different geopolitical visions. The main divergence lies in the strategy taken toward China.

Next week, during his upcoming visit to the three Southeast Asian countries of Vietnam, Indonesia, and Singapore, French President Emmanuel Macron aims to strengthen France's Indo-Pacific strategy. The Indo-Pacific space vision that France defends is a "free and open" space that includes China. One of the priorities of this vision is to ensure maritime security, safeguard freedom of navigation and overflight in the high seas, while maintaining pragmatic dialogue with China. In August 2018, President Macron emphasized the multilateral vision of the Indo-Pacific region in his "Ambassadors' Conference Speech," stressing that it should not be transformed into a struggle against China. For Emmanuel Macron, this concerns "making efforts to build new Indo-Pacific strategic axes that should not target anyone but should make an important contribution to international stability." He believes that "France must establish a new type of relationship with Asia. This relationship will particularly be built around significant and productive dialogue with China."

Source: rfi

Original Source: https://www.toutiao.com/article/1833232562569223/

Disclaimer: This article only represents the views of the author.