France renews vow to defend freedom of navigation, showcasing fighter jets in the Philippines

[Mike J]

France weighs in on side of the Philippine China tension.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/france-renews-vow-to-defend-freedom-of-navigation-showcasing-fighter-jets-in-the-philippines/ar-BB1qMctk?cvid=d3dc0d4cc49648e6df8cfd99b73517d2&ei=58

France renewed a commitment to help defend freedom of navigation and overflight in the Asia-Pacific on Sunday and said that its supersonic fighter jets — a pair of which landed for the first time in the Philippines — and advanced military power would enable it to respond rapidly to any humanitarian or security crisis in the region.

France is also working to quickly conclude a defense pact that would allow it to deploy a larger number of forces for joint exercises to the Philippines, French Ambassador to Manila Marie Fontanel said.

France has moved to broaden its defense engagements in the Indo-Pacific region, including with the Philippines and other Southeast Asian nations.

That dovetails with the effort of the administration of Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to boost his country’s territorial defense by allowing a larger U.S. military presence in the Philippines under a 2014 defense agreement and by building security alliances with Asian and Western nations as it deals with China’s increasingly assertive actions in the disputed South China Sea.

An annual French air force mission called Pegase, which showcases its combat power and travels to friendly countries to deepen defense relations, arrived over the weekend at Clark air base, a part of the former U.S. Air Force base, north of Manila, with two French-made Rafale fighter jets and air force cargo and transport aircraft.

The French air force flew a small group of journalists, including from the Associated Press, aboard an Airbus A400M cargo aircraft over Philippine waters facing the South China Sea on Sunday to demonstrate its crucial capability to undertake aerial refueling. But pockets of turbulence prompted the French military to abort the maneuver for safety reasons.
Philippine air force personnel will also get the chance to fly on board the Rafale jets and familiarize themselves with the aircraft. The fighter jets have been a “game changer," French air force Brig. Gen. Guillaume Thomas, who was heading the air force mission, told a news conference.

“They enable us to go very far and very fast and to be able to react very quickly… in case of a humanitarian crisis or even security crisis,” Thomas said. “We are able to deploy forces from France to be in this area in the Pacific in a very short notice.”

The French air force mission “is not designed to target any specific country or any specific situation” and does not aim to escalate regional tensions, Fontanel said.

France and the Philippines have begun preliminary talks on a status-of-forces agreement that would provide a legal framework and enable troops from each country to hold exercises in the other’s territory. France has been tasked to finish an initial draft of the agreement by September that would be the basis of future talks, Fontanel said.

Aside from France, the Philippines has been holding separate talks with Canada and New Zealand for such agreements. It signed a similar pact with Japan earlier this month.

China has strongly criticized such alliance-building and large-scale U.S. military exercises in the Philippines, saying the Philippines is “ganging up” with countries from outside Asia, and warned that military drills could instigate a confrontation and undermine regional stability.

Philippine military officials have dismissed China’s criticism, saying the drills and alliances are aimed at boosting Manila’s territorial defense and are not directed at any particular country.

[scott h]

The Fren

ch?

 

Edited July 28 by scott h
fix

[Old55]

Perhaps the French are looking to sell some military equipment to Bong Bong? 

Or: 

Edited July 29 by Old55

[longway]

I've been wondering what the French  jets will do when the water cannons start up. Do Fly By's? Drop water balloons. There doesn't seem to be any non lethal rsponses to the harresment.

[Mike J]

6 hours ago, longway said:

I've been wondering what the French  jets will do when the water cannons start up. Do Fly By's? Drop water balloons. There doesn't seem to be any non lethal rsponses to the harresment.

I at this point it is just politics of "who is on my side and thinks I am right".  I don't see either side wanting things to escalate but there doesn't appear to be any room for compromise either.  

[craftbeerlover]

15 hours ago, longway said:

I've been wondering what the French  jets will do when the water cannons start up. Do Fly By's? Drop water balloons. There doesn't seem to be any non lethal rsponses to the harresment.

That is the conundrum, however, all these countries stepping up (Korea, Japan, Australia, France, UK, Canada etc., at least sends a message to China.  How far will China push it and what that red line is, is the chess game (unfortunately it is not a game).   As China tries to increase its global footprint, this tit for tat is not going away anytime soon.   Problem for China is they are not the most liked or trusted country in the world and their allies are even less trusted and liked.  Their only 'formal' ally is North Korea

Edited July 30 by craftbeerlover

[scott h]

9 minutes ago, craftbeerlover said:

Problem for China is they are not the most liked or trusted country in the world

This is very true. But then the Chinese really don't care what the rest of the world thinks about them. They still consider themselves as the "Middle Kingdom". An attitude that has not changed for 3000 years. They believe they are at the tip of the triangle and everyone else is there to serve their needs to be discarded when no longer needed. 

16 minutes ago, craftbeerlover said:

How far will China push it

China is crazy like a fox, and they can read too. They know that as long as they do not use lethal force, The USA will not actively intervene. In fact I believe they are banking on some hot-headed Filipino sailor letting his emotions get the better of him and cutting loose with a .50 cal . They will then blow the Philippine navy out of the water, and rightly say "they started it!"