European warships plunged into the South China Sea

The French naval guard ship Prairial in Cam Ranh, Khanh Hoa province – Photo: French Embassy

On March 12, the French navy’s reconnaissance guard ship Prairial departed from the port of Cam Ranh, Khanh Hoa province, ending a four-day visit to Vietnam. The Prairial previously departed from the French base in Tahiti on January 15. During this trip, the Floréal class stopped at the military port of Sasebo in Japan in February, before arriving at Cam Ranh on March 9.

“Milestone” on Cam Ranh

According to the French ambassador to Vietnam, Nicolas Warnery, the visit to the port of Cam Ranh “is a very important event for France in Vietnam this year”, it is also a message to support the freedom of navigation and overflight of France in the East. also like the Indo-Pacific region.

Responding to Tuoi Tre on March 11, Ambassador Warnery said that France’s strategy in the region was announced by French Defense Minister Florence Parly at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore in 2018, in which France supported the efforts of the countries of the region on the point. of view to guarantee freedom of navigation and overflight.

“It should also be emphasized that in that Indo-Pacific strategy, ASEAN is the center and Vietnam is a very important country in the ASEAN region,” Ambassador Warnery said.

Speaking about defense cooperation between Vietnam and France, Defense Attaché of the French Embassy in Vietnam, Marc Razafindranaly, said that many people might be surprised to learn that French ships visit Vietnam at least twice a year, because France is less when you share this information widely.

“However, we especially want to pass on the information of this important visit. First, we want to emphasize the efforts of Vietnam to help us in the epidemic. Vietnamese support is very practical in repairing equipment and crew. It is a testament to the good cooperation between France and Vietnam “- said Lieutenant Colonel Razafindranaly.

In the above-mentioned exchange in Hanoi, Mr. Razafindranaly especially noted that the visit of the Prairial ship is an important test for the possibility of cooperation between the two countries in the COVID-19 epidemic. This good result is considered the basis for the next visits to Cam Ranh, not only by warships but also by airplanes.

“Internationalization” of the South China Sea

The French ship’s visit to Vietnam comes against the backdrop of European nations increasing their military presence in the South China Sea. This may be an important factor for the history of the South China Sea in the future.

Before Prairial, France also sent the Tonnere landing craft and the Surcouf corvette to begin a three-month mission in the Pacific, where they will cross the South China Sea twice and participate in exercises with the United States and Japan during May. The submarine SNA Emeraude and the French support ship BSAM Seine conducted a patrol in the South China Sea.

Late last month, the British Defense Ministry said the Navy’s HMS Queen Elizabeth aircraft carrier will arrive in Southeast Asia from April to June this year. The Australian Financial Review revealed that the country will participate in exercises with HMS Queen Elizabeth, along with the navies of countries such as the United States, Japan and the Netherlands.

In January this year, the Canadian destroyer Winnipeg also passed through the Taiwan Strait to emphasize “the free and open Indo-Pacific.”

Dr. Le Hong Hiep, from the Institute for Southeast Asian Studies (ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute, Singapore), analyzed that Europe’s increased participation in the South China Sea issue, both diplomatically and militarily, is contributing to the promotion of making the South China Sea dispute a reality, making the South China Sea dispute a problem not only between China and other direct plaintiffs, but also an international security issue, where foreign countries including European countries have benefits.

This, on the one hand, shows the importance of the South China Sea for the economic and security interests of European countries, on the other hand, it shows the increasing coordination between the US and its European allies to curb the geopolitical ambitions of China, even in the East Sea. “- Dr. Le Hong Hiep told Tuoi Tre.

In other words, Europe’s deeper involvement in the South China Sea is a plausible trend when it finds a parallel of interests between its policies and its American ally, as well as its partners in Southeast Asia.

The British aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth is about to reach the South China Sea – Photo: Twitter

You need a long-term commitment

However, although recent military movements in Europe have been rampant, suggesting a “serial” and systematic response, there are also some concerns about the degree of Europe’s engagement with this region.

Dr Sascha-Dominik Dov Bachmann, Professor at Canberra Law School, University of Canberra, Australia, said recent developments are remarkable, but not part of China’s push to roll back ambitions.

Bachmann commented to Tuoi Tre: “Most of these European countries have been the target of China’s ‘lobbying’ foreign policy in recent months, it can be said that naval deployment is the way of signaling. Go to Beijing and the Chinese people at the same time that your assertiveness will pay off. I don’t think naval activities this time are anything beyond the meaning of a particular countermeasure at the time. This – except the United States and the United Kingdom. “

Similarly, Singaporean scholar Collin Koh Swee Lean also believes that only the US, UK, and perhaps Canada are the ‘biggest series’ action countries, sharing the same goal.

“I don’t think they are acting in harmony, but rather in a dynamic of competition, including the European powers together … Their military presence in the South China Sea is probably only symbolic. If it is not maintained for a long time or frequently , Beijing would see this as nothing more than a nuisance and it would be of no use if Beijing believed that these activities reflected the partial or weak will of the locality. West. “

More optimistic, Professor Thayer still believes that the naval deployment of European countries and the United States also creates a new strategic situation for China. Because in the past, China criticized the United States for threatening Chinese interests, but with the current prospect of a unified front in the South China Sea, it would be difficult for China to risk one-sided or punishment. Some country without touching the rest – understood as a coalition of like-minded democracies.