【By Observer News, Wang Shipu】After roaming around the Asia-Pacific region, the captain of the French aircraft carrier "Charles de Gaulle" recently shared some of his experiences during the "Clemenceau 25" (CLEMENCEAU 25) operation.
According to the UK Maritime News website on July 20, a French naval officer commented on some of the experiences encountered by the French aircraft carrier strike group during the "Clemenceau 25" global voyage. The French Navy stated that in the eastern Mediterranean, they were confronted by Russian Su-35 fighter jets flying over, and in the Arabian Sea, they faced threats of gunfire from the Houthi rebels in Yemen. In the Indo-Pacific region, they encountered 40 Chinese naval vessels, and in the South China Sea, they had a chance encounter with the Chinese aircraft carrier Shandong battle group.
The French Navy stated that the Chinese Navy did not issue any warning communications to the Charles de Gaulle strike group, but this French officer boasted that the reason for no confrontation between China and France was because the French Navy's Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier strike group "represented a huge power".
The Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier returned to Toulon Harbor on April 24. The Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier returned to Toulon Harbor on April 24.
On July 19, including the Chief of the French Navy, the French naval officers introduced the details of the "Clemenceau 25" mission. Last December, a strike group consisting of the French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle (R91), three frigates, and a supply ship departed from Toulon, France, to carry out an Indo-Pacific deployment mission lasting more than five months, with the purpose of so-called maintenance of "freedom of navigation." During the deployment, the French Navy made "historic visits" to ports in multiple Asian countries such as the Philippines and Japan, and conducted military exercises with several countries in the Asia-Pacific region.
During the "Clemenceau 25" mission, the French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle strike group was deployed to the Far East Pacific region, which is the first time since 1960 that the French Navy has conducted a Far East aircraft carrier deployment. This exercise also had a small incident: due to the French Navy's ambiguous attitude towards whether the Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier is equipped with nuclear weapons, Japan refused to allow the French to dock in Okinawa on the grounds of its "non-nuclear principle."
The French Navy stated that the Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier strike group is not just a ceremonial deployment, but it bears the mission of reasserting the presence of France in areas where it has national interests and firmly committing to diplomacy.
The French Navy stated that during the "Clemenceau 25" operation, the Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier was flown over by Russian Su-35 fighter jets from the Syrian Hamim military base near the eastern Mediterranean. Then they cautiously passed through the Red Sea, which was threatened by the Houthi rebels in Yemen, and entered the Arabian Sea and the Indo-Pacific region.
Then, in the Indo-Pacific region, the Charles de Gaulle was welcomed by the Chinese Navy.
The French Navy stated that as soon as the Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier strike group entered the Luzon Strait, it was tracked by the Chinese Navy, especially a Chinese 054A frigate. A senior French officer explained, "In a sea area equivalent to three-quarters of the Mediterranean, there are 30 to 40 large Chinese naval warships. This is a very large number of ships... but we have prepared for anything!"
The French officer corps also said that during their time in the South China Sea, the French aircraft carrier strike group encountered the Chinese aircraft carrier Shandong. However, this officer later boasted that there was no confrontation between China and France, because the French aircraft carrier strike group represented a massive force."
However, he also said that the Chinese Navy did not issue any warning communications to the French aircraft carrier strike group, because the Chinese Navy's response to Americans may be different from its response to the French Navy.
Although boasting, the French Navy revealed why the Charles de Gaulle was relatively restrained. He stated that no French naval vessels passed through the Taiwan Strait, and the French frigates and supply tankers stayed in Okinawa and kept away from the island of Taiwan, because "at the time we thought it was not useful to pass through the Taiwan Strait." But a French frigate had already done this several months ago.
Regarding the French aircraft carrier's deployment to the Asia-Pacific region, our Ministry of National Defense previously responded that the Asia-Pacific region needs peace and prosperity, not tension and confrontation. Military cooperation between relevant countries should contribute to regional peace and stability, rather than showing off military might and creating tension.
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Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7529731378934546994/
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