France’s Macron warns against new ‘imperialism’ in the Pacific

PARIS – French President Emmanuel Macron warned against “new imperialism” in the Pacific during a landmark visit to the region, denouncing predatory behaviour by big powers in a region where China is extending trade and security ties.

France, which has island territories spanning the Indo-Pacific, including French Polynesia, has

boosted defence ties with India

and other countries in the region as part of a move to counter Chinese influence.

In a speech in Vanuatu, Mr Macron, the first French president to have set foot on the Pacific island nation since war leader Charles de Gaulle, said France would work “shoulder to shoulder” with states in the region to preserve their independence.

“There is in the Indo-Pacific, especially in Oceania, new imperialism appearing and a power logic which is threatening the sovereignty of many states, the smallest and often the most fragile ones,” he said, without naming any country.

“The modern world is shaking up the Indo-Pacific’s sovereignty and independence. First, because of the predation of big powers. Foreign ships fish illegally here. In the region, many loans with Leonine conditions strangle up development.”

Pacific island nations are being courted by China, a major infrastructure lender that struck a security pact with the Solomon Islands in 2022, and the United States, which is reopening embassies closed since the Cold War.

Macron follows Austin

China has been a major infrastructure lender to Pacific island nations, including Vanuatu over the past decade. Vanuatu’s largest creditor is China’s Eximbank, accounting for a third of the nation’s debt, according to the International Monetary Fund.

Washington has stepped up US Coast Guard patrols and surveillance for illegal fishing in the Pacific islands, after concern at China’s naval ambitions.

After Vanuatu, Mr Macron is due to arrive in Papua New Guinea on Thursday evening, hot on the heels of US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin, who was there on Thursday.

In May, the US and Papua New Guinea signed a defence agreement that sets a framework for Washington to refurbish the island’s ports and airports for military and civilian use.

The US and its allies are seeking to deter Pacific island nations from establishing security ties with China, a rising concern amid tension over Taiwan.

Mr Macron’s advisers say France can be an “alternative” and help the island nations diversify their partnerships without becoming too reliant on one single country. REUTERS