Panaji: In a veiled message to China, the French Navy reiterated on Saturday that freedom of navigation at sea must be ensured with no scope for threats or aggression among civilised nations. A French carrier strike groupwhich is en route to the Pacific Ocean, will take part in military exercises around Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines, along with the navies of the US and the UK.
The strike group, which arrived in Goa on Saturday, is set to conduct war games south of the Indonesian arc and later off the coast of Japan.
Rear Admiral Jacques Mallardthe Commander of the French strike force, said that instead of maintaining the “status quo”, some nations focus on their “own interest”, which is a challenge.
“We want to maintain the status quo under international law. It means that wherever there is high sea, there is freedom of navigation,” Mallard said. “Wherever there is an international strait, under the Montego Bay Conventions, we must be able to go through with no specific threats or impediments. So, everything that is against the freedom of navigation has to be shamed, has to be declared.”
The French strike group, centred around the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle, will partner with American, Australian, British, Canadian, Greek, Italian, and Japanese warships.
The carrier will also participate in the annual Varuna bilateral exercise with the Indian Navy.
“We want to promote a free, open, and stable Indo-Pacific space with all the original partners in the context of international law,” Mallard said.
He said that while interoperability exercises like Varuna have increased in complexity and are highly effective, there is room for improvement in dealing with emerging threats.
“I think the French position of maintaining the status quo is giving everybody the chance to have fair access to whatever is inside the sea,” Mallard said. “There are people who want to bring their own interest instead of the common interest, and that’s the difficult part of it. So, it’s a little worrying, but it means that we need strong navies and, most of all, navies that can operate together.”
The Varuna exercises began with the basics in 2004, and the two navies learned how to sail and operate together. Since then, the war games have been handling more complex scenarios.
Mallard said the changing world order, particularly the threats posed by non-state actors, creates a challenge. “When the world is changing, we have to train together to ensure that in different conditions, we can operate,” he said.
