Policy Brief

June23,
1, 2018
July2019

Va l é r i e N i q u e t i s s e n i o r
fellow at the Japan Instituteof Inter national Af fairs andhead of the Asia pr ogramat Foundation for Strategic
Research. She writes

Sharing the same principles:
an essential factor for cooperation,
stability and the resolution ofterritorial issues in the Indo-Pacificextensively on Asia-Pacific

Valérie Niquet

strategic affairs and security.
Her latest book, La puissancechinoise en 100 questions,
Tallandier, has been publishedin 2017. You can follow her on
twitter @V.NiquetDisclaimer :The views expressed in thispublication are those of the authorand do not necessarily reflect thepolicy or position of The Japan
Institute of International Affairs or
any other organization with which
the author is affiliated.

During two critical meetings, Prime Minister Abe’s visit to Francein May 2019, followed by President Macron’s visit to Japan in June ofthe same year, several elements were highlighted that demonstrate
a close convergence of analysis on the strategic situation in theIndo-Pacific region. This convergence paves the way for increased
opportunities for cooperation. Internal evolutions on defense-related
issues in Japan since 2012 have made this type of cooperation
more accessible. On the French side, a more assertive ambition forengagement in a critical area has been expressed on many occasions.
A convergence of ideas
France has repeatedly reaffirmed its commitment to essential
principles, which also underpin Japan’s Defence and security policy.
For Florence Parly, French Minister of Armed Forces, the evolutionof the security order in the Indo-Pacific affects our interests directly.1
These principles are the will to preser ve stability, the principle offreedom of navigation, to respect the rule of law based on a universal
value system that rejects the use of force, or coercion to change
the status quo and to reject hegemony strategies of influence. For
Paris as for Tokyo, the implementation of these principles relies on
elements of military capability, and the French Minister of the Armed
Forces confirmed that France must maintain a level of capabilities
ready to face any threats in the region, including threats to theimplementation of the freedom of navigation and insidious or greyzones risks.
With regard to the perception of the strategic situation in theIndo-Pacific area, which makes particular sense for France, with
1 Speech by Florence Parly, Minister of the Armed Forces, Shangri La Dialogue
June 2019.

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Policy Brief

direct national interests in the Indian and thePacific Ocean (the only European power in thiscase), and with a considerable presence of morethan 1 million residents, 3 permanent bases, 5
military commands and some 7000 pre-deployedpersonnel. Beyond the major economic
challenges, which depend on the stability ofthe region and the security of maritime linesof communication, 93% of France’s EEZ, thesecond largest in the world, is located in thisvery area.

President Hollande and confirmed by President
Macron. This is an essential element of ourstrategy towards this region.
In concrete terms, France is already involvedin many actions in the area with its regularparticipation in naval exercises, in particularwith Japan, India, Australia, and the UnitedStates, the deployment of our navy in theChina Sea several times a year, including with
European obser vers but also, the ambition
to strengthen our partnerships with regional
maritime powers such as Australia, India, Japan,Indonesia, Singapore, South Korea, Malaysia
and Vietnam.

The perceptions and analysis of the strategic
situation in France and Japan are very similar.
For Japan, the area is at the heart of its vitalinterests, which directly af fect the economic
and strategic security of the archipelago. With
regard to threat assessment, France’s 2017
Defence Review, as well as the new edition of
the Indo-Pacific Strategy, published in June
2019, highlights, like Japanese documents, therisks associated with big power rivalries, faitaccompli strategies, the threat to a free access toresources, particularly in the maritime space but
also environmental and climate-related risks.2

Concer ning information sharing, at thehear t of the concept of Maritime Domain
Awareness, France has a liaison officer within
the Information Fusion Center (IFC Changi andMadagascar) on sea lines of communication
surveillance. It also plays a role with its liaisonof ficers with HA/DR coordination centersin an area par ticularly vulnerable to natural
disasters. Here again, cooperation with Japan,
whose excellence in this area is recognized, is asignificant point.

For France, what is at stake goes beyond theeconomy and the prosperity of Europe but is aquestion of principles based on the respect ofrules governing international relations.3 These
rules apply to the respect of sovereignty withno inter ference, which is challenged in themaritime space of the Indo-Pacific.

In this respect, France is ready to strengthen
its cooperation with regional organizations,where it can play a major role as anintermediar y, particularly with the EU, withinorganizations such as the ADMM+ format. Thiswould also strengthen the par tnership withJapan.

A common willingness to engage in thearea

In the Pacific, France is part of the FRANZ
format, which coordinates and rationalizes civil
and militar y assistance to Pacific states andterritories. In a period of uncer tainty, whenother powers are developing ambitions in theregion, this is an essential element. In this sectorin particular, in such a vast and vulnerable area,
capacity development is essential, and both

The willingness of France and Japan toengage in the area, and to cooperate, are twofactors that play a significant role in deepening
relations.
For France, the desire to diversify ourstrategy towards Asia is essential, initiated by2
3

La France et la sécurité en Indo-Pacifique, http://defense.gouv.fr, June 2019.
Speech by Florence Parly, Minister of the Armed Forces, Shangri La Dialogue 2019.

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Japan and France have a role to play.

For its part, France adheres to the conceptof a free and open Indo-Pacific with, however,a more inclusive vision, par ticularly towards
ASEAN countries.

In the same area, the Nor th Pacific Coast
Guard For um, (2000), a Japanese initiative,
and the Heads of Asia Coast Guards meetings
initiated in 2004 offers other opportunities forpositive cooperation.

Moreover, if China’s lack of transparency andassertiveness is taken into account in Paris, thepursuit of a strategy of lucid and constructive
engagement is never rejected. Here again, there
is an element of convergence with Japan, which,for its par t, with the visit of Prime Minister
Abe to China in 2018, and the invitation to theChinese President for a state visit in 2020, favors
the same willingness to normalize its relations
with the PRC.

At the same time, since 2012, Japan has
adopted a new posture on security and defense
which facilitates its commitment to a higher
international contribution to peace, including
in par tnership with new actors beyond theUnited States, even if Washington remains and it cannot be otherwise - the core of Japan’s
defense and security system.4

Capacity development: an operational
field of cooperation

In 2013, Japan adopted a national security
strategy for the first time since 1945. In 2014, theprinciples for transferring militar y equipment
were made more flexible, making it possible, forexample, to sign an ACSA (acquisition and coservicing agreement sharing of defense supplies
and services) with France in July 2018. Not tomention the new defense laws, which cameinto force in 2016 and facilitate the participationof the Self dense forces in humanitarian aid,
peacekeeping, and natural disaster responseoperations. All this also facilitates cooperation,
including cooperation involving the self-defense
forces, in capacity development.

France maintains a network of militar ycooperation and strategic par tnerships
throughout the Indo-Pacific region, including
joint capacity development exercises, sharingof expertise, training of personnel, providing
equipment in sectors related to information
sharing, detection assistance, humanitarianassistance, and natural disaster response. All thisis at the heart of our objective of stabilization in
the area, an objective shared with Japan.
Paris also wants to better coordinate allthese actions, with all its partners which range
from the Pacific to Africa and South-East Asia,
whose centrality must not be forgotten. As far
as Africa is concerned, this is a major challenge
for France and Europe, including in terms oftraining, with, in particular, the Africa 2015 plan
which, as in the Pacific, aims to offer Africancountries a positive alter native to China’soffensive.

Converging concepts of security andstability
These evolutions led to greater convergenceon concepts, but with differences that must be
taken into account and understood.
In Tokyo, two concepts dominate thatof FOIP and that of QUAD (United States,Japan, India Australia) sometimes seen as an
operational translation of the previous one.

For its par t, Japan has placed capacity
development at the hear t of its security andstabilization policy. In par ticular, with the4 Prime Minister Abe: «Japan must be a net contributor to the provision of the worldʼs welfare and security… Japan
will proactively contribute for Peace and Stability of the region and the world.»

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training of maritime personnel in Somalia andDjibouti, the provision of coastguard patrolboats and self-defense force training aircraft tocountries such as Vietnam and the Philippines,
the training of militar y personnel specializingin underwater medicine, and very importantly,
assistance in the development of seabedmapping, where France also has an area ofexcellence.
In all these areas, synergies with France canand must be developed between two countries
that share the same values and many interests.
This cooperation applies to the countries of Asiaand the Pacific, where the logic of cooperation
is solid. However, East Africa and the Horn ofAfrica with the problems related to piracy isalso a major region in the Indian Ocean. Japan'sinvestment, with the TICAD conferences,
the next of which will be held in Tokyo in
August 2019, is an essential element of thiscomplementary stabilization strategy.
These synergies will also be translated
into areas that also contribute to fostering
dialogue and strengthening the strategic
par tnership between our two countries,
including the environment and climate change,
which increases the vulnerability of sensitive
areas such as the South China Sea, as wellas ter ritories in the Indian Ocean and thePacific. These challenges of fer a wide range
of opportunities for cooperation and dialogue.
Moreover, these oppor tunities and the role
played by France in Europe, contribute to
an increased awareness of security issues in
the region, and the development of a more
integrated approach and strategic vision among
all the States of the European Union.

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