South China Sea: how the French navy is charting its own course between China and the US

France prepares to send amphibious assault ship and frigate to pass through disputed waters in its annual Jeanne d’Arc military mission

Military observers say Beijing has been restrained in its reaction

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The French frigate Surcouf is taking part in France’s annual Jeanne d’Arc operations in the South China Sea. Photo: Twitter

Published: 6:00pm, 27 Feb 2021Updated: 9:03am, 28 Feb 2021

France is stepping up its military presence in the South China Sea with a strategically balanced approach to avoid increasing tension with Beijing.

After sending the nuclear attack submarine Émeraude and naval support ship Seine through the South China Sea in early February, France is preparing another transit to put pressure on Beijing’s claims on the waterway by sending an amphibious assault ship, the Tonnerre, and the frigate Surcouf to pass through the disputed waters twice during its annual Jeanne d’Arc mission, which started on February 18.

According to observers, the moves could be seen as France implementing its 2019 Indo-Pacific Strategy, which calls for it to increase its presence in the region and defend freedom of navigation and the rules-based international order.

The warships will avoid passing through the Taiwan Strait, a flashpoint in US-China tensions, but it appears the French side is not ruling out changing its route.

When asked if he was planning to transit via the Taiwan Strait, Captain Arnaud Tranchant told Naval News he respected international law and the sovereignty of the territories near the path the French navy was taking, but had “not yet traced our roads in this area”.

“[Not passing the Taiwan Strait] would indeed be a positive gesture to do so,” said Antoine Bondaz, research fellow at the Foundation for Strategic Research.