The 27 member-states of the European Union in April are set to approve a plan that will see a larger and more assertive military presence in the Indo-Pacific as a counterweight to China.
Diplomatic analysts said the new strategy also involves assigning more military experts to EU diplomatic missions, training coast guard commands in Southeast Asian countries and deploying more EU military personnel aboard warships of the Royal Australian Navy patrolling the Indian Ocean.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian will journey to India in April to develop the EU's Indo-Pacific strategy with leaders of the Indian Armed Forces. The European Union later in the year will hold a summit with India, whose support is absolutely vital for the success of the new military strategy aimed at countering Chinese expansionism.
"The Indo-Pacific is the cornerstone of Europe's geopolitical path," said a French diplomat. "There's no alternative (to an expanded military presence)."
Led by France, the EU has quietly expanded its military presence in the Indo-Pacific over the past few years. The pace of this deployment of European military power has accelerated over the past year to support moves by the United States for a more muscular military response to Chinese aggression.
In early February, the French Navy nuclear attack submarine SNA Emeraude (S604) and the support ship BSAM Seine (A604) completed a joint patrol of the South China Sea, the first such mission acknowledged by the French this year.
A week later, the French announced two of its warships will transit the South China Sea to uphold France's defense of a free and open Indo-Pacific while confronting China for its illegal territorial claims.
France's Ministry of Armed Forces said the amphibious assault helicopter carrier FS Tonnerre (L9014) and and the La Fayette-class frigate FS Surcouf (F711) set sail from the naval base at Toulon for "Mission Jeanne D'Arc 2021."
Two patrols of the Indo-Pacific by the French Navy in just two months is extraordinary since the navy in the past only conducted two patrols in the region per year.
The ministry pointed out the Mission Jeanne D'Arc this year will be a true operational deployment supporting France's defense strategy in the Indo-Pacific.
Last week, the German government confirmed a warship of the German Navy (Bundesmarine) will transit the South China Sea in August, becoming the first German warship to cross the South China Sea since 2002.
The United States praised the German decision as supporting a "rules-based international order" in the region, which China threatens.
On the political front, the EU on March 22 will punish four Chinese officials and one entity with travel bans and asset freezes over China's human rights abuses against Muslim Uyghurs.
