The day following Emmanuel Macron’s departure from China, the frigate Prairial crossed the maritime strip that separates Taiwan from the mainland, while Chinese military exercises aimed at encircling the island were underway.
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The timing has something to smile regarding. From April 9 to 10, a French frigate crossed the Taiwan Strait in the middle ofChinese-led encirclement exercises around Taiwanaccording to information from Challenges confirmed at Figaro by a knowledgeable source. From April 9 to 10, the surveillance frigate Prairial thus sailed in this maritime corridor, the day followingEmmanuel Macron’s three-day state visit to China.
The Chinese maneuvers, which aimed to intimidate Taiwan, concluded on Monday, April 10 “with successBeijing said. The presence of the tricolor ship in this sector “clearly demonstrates our commitment to an open Indo-Pacific, without provocation, without escalation, with respect and with clarity“, said Emmanuel Macron on April 12, during a state visit to the Netherlands.
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Significant presence of French ships in the South China Sea
These remarks by the president were aimed in particular at clarifying the interview given to the American site Politico and to the daily The echoespublished on his return to France, which had caused an outcry among our European and American allies. The Head of State claimed a “strategic autonomyof the European Union on the question of Taiwan and urged the Twenty-Seven not to “be followersfrom Washington and Beijing. “Emmanuel Macron implied that we had no interest in defending in the region, when we have always demonstrated that we were present there“, explains a connoisseur of China, who points in the president’s remarks to a “contradiction with French doctrine».
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The presence of the frigate Prairial in the Taiwan Strait is the most striking example. His time in the sector is not an extraordinary event. THE Prairialjust like the Vendemiaire of the same class, regularly patrols the area.
The naval diplomacy and training mission Joan of Arc also passes through the region often. The amphibious helicopter carrier (PHA) Diksmuideaccompanied by the frigate The Fayette, have also left Toulon on February 8 for a world tour that will see them cross the South China Sea. In 2021, the nuclear attack submarine Emerald was also deployed there.
Real interests in the region
The military but non-aggressive presence of these buildings of great importance “demonstrates what France is capable of doing, and that it can in particular deploy very quickly“, underlines our interlocutor. On April 8, the multi-mission frigate Lorraine also departed for Japan, for a qualifying deployment, in order to be admitted to active duty. All these deployments demonstrate that France has real interests in the region, and that it intends to demonstrate its presence.
” READ ALSO – Why France cannot ignore Taiwan
By sailing in the Taiwan Strait, the French Navy is also fully asserting its freedom of action. Because many military ships carefully avoid the area, for fear of irritating China. However, the area is an international waterway. But in June 2022, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs estimated that China had “sovereignty, sovereign rights and jurisdiction over the Taiwan Strait».
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Before crossing the Taiwan Strait, the frigate Prairial in any case stopped at the port of Haiphong, Vietnam, from April 2 to 6, where she conducted an exercise “PASSEXwith the Vietnamese Navy. If the purpose of the frigate is not known, it might be joint training with Japan, or a mission to enforce the international arms embargo in North Korea.