The French and Japanese air forces have conducted aerial exercises in Japan, the first of their kind between the two allies. But even as Paris seeks to build its military alliances in the Indo-Pacific region, France has blocked proposals to open a NATO liaison office in Tokyo.
The four-day joint drills are part of a larger French exercise, codenamed Pegase 2023, taking place across the Indo-Pacific in the coming weeks, including in French island territories.
”It’s natural that France, a resident nation of the Indo-Pacific, is particularly concerned by the geopolitical tensions felt in the region as a result of competition between the great powers,” General Stephane Mille, chief of staff of the French Air and Space Force, told reporters at a July 28 news conference in Japan’s Saitama prefecture. […]
At its July annual summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, NATO put forward the opening of a liaison office in Tokyo. However, French President Emmanuel Macron blocked the move.
”It’s pretty clear that President Macron wants to avert any sort of escalation, or dynamic that could lead to escalation, with China,” said Fabrice Pothier, a former NATO head of policy planning and now the CEO of the consultancy group Rasmussen Global, in an interview with VOA on Tuesday. “And he probably considers putting the NATO flag somewhere in the Indo-Pacific – even though it’s a very symbolic flag – as a bit too provocative.” Läs artikel