Indo-Pacific This is how geopolitics taught France a "hard lesson"

Paris' loss of the "Agreement of the Century" was not just the loss of a commercial and military contract or the loss of a diplomatic relationship with an important ally, but rather a destabilizing earthquake for France's interests and strategy in the Indo-Pacific.

After years of maneuvering, strategic planning, and forging alliances, it seems that France has finally lost a significant foothold in the Indo-Pacific, or Asia Pacific. Canberra recently announced its withdrawal from the contract concluded with Paris in 2016 to supply 12 combat submarines, worth $90 billion, in exchange for nuclear propulsion submarines, as part of the new strategic partnership signed with Washington and Canada under the title "Aquos".

The sudden move of Australia and the United States angered France, which considered it an explicit exclusion of the most crucial geopolitical areas whose developments affect French interests.

And if the United States tried to calm down France's anger, at the same time it adheres to developing and expanding partnerships with several parties and powers in the Indo-Pacific region, which is a major theater of conflict with China.

The Indo-Pacific..a decisive regional battleground

The Indo-Pacific region or “Asia Pacific” refers to the region of the Indian and Pacific Oceans that extends from the view of the Americas in the east to the borders of the Indian Ocean near the Arabian Sea and the coasts of eastern Africa in the west, and from the maritime borders of India and the countries of South and East Asia to the coast of Australia in the south.

With the rise of Chinese influence, the United States has formulated a national strategy in the Indo-Pacific region, which has become a theater of conflict for the two competing powers. In light of this, the United States is looking at ways to enhance its influence by expanding and developing partnerships, of which the "Ocos" agreement is one of its last harbingers.

As for France, the Indo-Pacific region includes a group of French overseas provinces and territories, such as the islands of Mayotte, Reunion, the French Southern and Antarctic territories, New Caledonia, Ellis, Futuna, French Polynesia and Clipperton, and is inhabited by about 1.65 million French. About 93% of the French economic zone is concentrated in this region, and more than 7,000 companies, in addition to the concentration of about 8,300 soldiers on a military mission there.

Accordingly, Paris stressed on several occasions the need for it to play its role as a regional power in securing the region and contributing to its stability, in order to protect its sovereign interests and ensure the security of its citizens, and relied on cooperation with both India and Australia.

While France claims to be a real and decisive power in the "Indo-Pacific", Beijing has simultaneously strengthened its presence in the region's waters, successfully militarized reclaimed islands in the South China Sea, raised new military buildings and expanded its fleet of ships.

It seems that the United States considered this a sign that France is not really a major security player in the region, and some experts and analysts' opinions suggested that Paris would seek to benefit from the growing Chinese market in the region and search for outlets for military industries without entering into a formal defense alliance.

Is Paris regaining its position in the region?

While the United States is entering a delicate and decisive stage in confronting what it described as the Chinese danger and threat, it has always emphasized, through its policies, its quest to weave strong partnerships and alliances with the degree of challenge ahead.

In this context, experts and analysts consider that by declaring to enter into a strategic security partnership with Australia and the United Kingdom in the Indo-Pacific region, it is thus pushing France, whose position seems vacillating and ambiguous, to be a step backwards.

Since losing one of its main allies in the Indo-Pacific region after decades of efforts of rapprochement and cooperation, France is again seeking to transcend questioning its strategies in the region and is trying to regain its role and status. Successive presidents of the Elysée realized that in order to strengthen its regional position, Paris had to work on its repositioning in Asia or the Indo-Pacific.

Today, however, that seems next to impossible, with two competing global powers bolstered by strategic alliances. Thus, France has lost an important strategic area in which its role will gradually diminish, as experts and analysts have pointed out.