Eric Frécon

Eric Frécon

Visiting Academic, Universiti Brunei Darussalam

Eric Frécon is a visiting academic at the Universiti Brunei Darussalam, and an adjunct fellow at the French Naval Academy-Sorbonne, the French Research Institute for Contemporary Southeast Asia (IRASEC, Bangkok) and the Institute for Strategic Research (IRSEM, Paris).

French President Emmanuel Macron waves at the Elysee Palace in Paris on 28 February 2022. (Ludovic Marin/AFP)

France's Indo-Pacific strategy in creating a multipolar global order

Considering itself part of the Indo-Pacific on the grounds of history and overseas territories, France has released its Indo-Pacific strategy to guide its international action in this region. It has an active naval diplomacy and about 8,000 French soldiers permanently deployed in five military bases across the region. And while it lacks the capacity to provide extensive financial or military assistance to countries in the Indo-Pacific, it can offer knowledge and expertise in environmental and climate security and in the governance of territorial waters. Crucially, France is keen to convey that its vision for an inclusive Indo-Pacific offers a third path that moves beyond the current Sino-US bipolarity.