French navy officials said Monday during a visit to Japan, the French “DeGaule” nuclear-powered aircraft carrier strike group ships will be in Japan from February to March next year.
French Navy commander of the Pacific region, Major General Pangate, 17, in Tokyo to accept media interviews. According to the Japan Times, pangate, a former commander of the DeGaule, said: “Although France regularly sends warships to the indo-pacific as a Pacific nation, this will mark the first deployment of a French carrier strike group to the wider region in more than 40 years,” it said.
The carrier strike group, consisting of nuclear submarine, frigates, supply ships and Rafale, set off from the southern French port of Toulon on November 28. The future aircraft carrier strike group will hold two joint exercises with India and other countries in the Indian Ocean, and participate in joint exercises with Japan, the United States and Australia in the Pacific Ocean. The French embassy in Japan said the move would enable the French army to deepen its long-term partnership in the“Indo-pacific region”.
Zhuo Hua, an expert on international issues at the Beijing Foreign Studies University International Relations, told the global times on the 18th that, the deployment of the French carrier DeGaule is intended to demonstrate France’s status as a military power and European collective defense through extraterritorial military action, as well as through high-profile asia-pacific deployments and military cooperation among allies, the United States could be shown the military value and strategic position of Europe in asia-pacific security in exchange for its continued deep commitment to NATO and European security.
It should be noted that the major European countries to send aircraft carriers to the asia-pacific region will almost always visit Japan, although this time the“Charles de Gaulle” aircraft carrier due to“Port procedures complicated” will only send a subordinate ship docking. The British Prince of Wales Strike Group is due to visit Japan next year, and in August this year the Italian carrier GAVR made its first port of call. Zhuohua believes that the motives for military deployment in the asia-pacific are different for the United States, Britain, France and others, but objectively it presents the image of Western military powers outside the region engaging in military build-up in the asia-pacific region, artificially promoting tension in the asia-pacific region, undermining the efforts of asia-pacific countries to build a regional security structure on their own.