Sea Control - Sea Control 304 - France in the Pacific (Part 1 - English)

Episode Date: December 23, 2021

Commander of French forces in the Pacific, Rear Admiral Jean-Mathieu Rey, joins the program to discuss France's role and presence in the Pacific. Also available in French! This episode was edited and produced (and in the case of the French version, hosted by) Alexia Bouallagui.

Hey folks, Jared here. So this is an exciting development for us. We actually have Rear Admiral Ray, Commander of French Forces in the Pacific, and we've got him twice. So you're going to see this labeled as Parts 1 and Part 2. Part 2 is actually the same interview, but conducted in French with our own Alexia Boulaghi conducting the interview. So for our French-speaking audience, please enjoy, tell your friends. We do expect to be doing more of these in the future. And this episode was edited and produced by Alexia Boulaghi. The other thing I would say is that do not expect a new episode to post on the 25th of December.

We'll be back the week afterwards and resuming production two episodes per week. But speaking of editors, we are looking for some additional editors to add to our team here. If you're interested, please email us at ccontrol at simsec.org with your resume. At SimSec, we believe victory in the maritime domain starts with great ideas communicated compellingly. Write, fight, win. Beginning with Giving Tuesday going through December, we're holding our annual Right Fight Win holiday donation campaign to support SimSec into the new year. SimSec's proud to say since our founding, our content has been free and always will be. Especially as more websites build paywalls or pursue intrusive advertising, we hope those in the SimSec community who value our free, no-ad model will consider supporting us with monthly donations.

Finally, I want to take the opportunity to recommend our partners in the SimSec podcast network, The Bilge Pumps. You can find Alex, Jamie, Drack, and a pile of our own brew bottles wherever you download your podcasts. On that note, I'll turn it over to Kimber's men. Aloha, shipmates, and welcome back aboard Sea Control. My guest today is the Joint Commander of French Armed Forces in the Asia-Pacific, or ALPACI, Rear Admiral Jean-Matt Ray. Admiral, thank you for joining us. Could you tell the listeners a little bit about your professional background, please?

Hello, I am a French naval officer. We are often operated in the Indo-Pacific area. My current position is my fifth in this part of the world. And I began my career on a frigate based in Tahiti. and I have commanded two naval vessels based in the Indo-Pacific, a patrol boat in New Caledonia and a frigate in La Réunion in the Indian Ocean. And I took over the French command of the Asia-Pacific zone on August 1, 2020, last year. Well, thank you again for coming on, sir. As a reminder, all opinions are our own and not representative of any institutions

with which we might be otherwise associated. So, sir, I thought it was notable that you're the Joint Commander of French Forces. What forces do you have at your disposal and how is Alpacchi organized? Are there subordinate ground, air and maritime staffs for you there? Yeah, as you have just pointed out, I am indeed at the head of a joint force composed of teams and resources from all three environments, three services. six ships of the French Navy from the frigate and his helicopter to the patrol boat seven air and space force aircraft as well as

naval aviation for transport and maritime surveillance and sea and land rescue by as well as two regiments of the marine infantry are under my command. I also command all French military forces operating in two areas, French Polynesia and the Asia-Pacific region. My task force is part of the France's permanent military presence in the Indo-Pacific, based not only in the territories of the La Reunion Republic, New Caledonia, and French Polynesia,

but also among our partners in Djibouti in Africa and in the United Arab Emirates. This permanent structure represents more than 7,000 military personnel, 15 combat ships, and around 40 aircraft, which are periodically reinforced with the units from France mainland. When these units operate in the Asia-Pacific area, they do so under my command. So what is Al-Pakhi's mission,

and then what are the subordinate units doing on a day-to-day basis, all those forces you just mentioned? In this immense zone that is Asia-Pacific, our mission is first and foremost to protect our territories, our citizens, and our resources against any threat, including illegal fishing and natural disasters. The exclusive economic zones of Polynesia and Clipperton alone represent more than 5.6 million square kilometers. The totality of our EEZs in the Indo-Pacific covers more than 9 million square kilometers. The Navy aircraft and ships successfully protect this area every day. The Navy's helicopters provide rescue services at sea and on land for the benefits of the entire population. And they are, if I could say, the Saint Bernard of Polynesia and the Polynesian.

As far as the army, they monitor our military bases and installation, as well as the atolls of Moruroa and Fangatofa, these two atolls where France has conducted nuclear experiments. Our soldiers enforce this forbidden zone and participate daily in the control of the physical and biological condition of these atolls. Even if we have not conducted any tests since 1996, 25 years ago, we continue to guard and protect these sites, which remain strategic for our country. Also, we have army demining experts. We carry out all the demining operations on historical munitions as well as on suspicious packages. And last but not least, the Air Force and Space Force aircraft ensure the transportation between the 118 islands that constitute Polynesia over an area as vast as Europe. They are used by the Marine Infantry Sections as well as by the patients to be evacuated from distant islands to the hospital in Papeete on the main island of Tahiti. our areas of excellence are first the state at sea or if i could say a coast guard function as well as the humanitarian assistance and disaster relief in addition to the protection of

polynesia and polynesian our fellow citizens in this part of the world our second mission as a pacific nation is to ensure the respect of international law multilateralism free movement in common spaces and to fight against a nuclear proliferation france aims to be a balancing power and promote multilateralism and the peaceful resolution of conflict it operates in the Far East, for example, in the China seas, or off the coast of Latina America, as

it did last month with the Frigate Prairie. We act on a daily basis with our pre-position assets, frigates, aircraft, infantry sections. But these units

are periodically reinforced by forces from France, such as the Jandak 2021 mission with a helicopter carrier Tonner deployed this year as far as Japan, and the carrier strike group Charles de Gaulle in the China Sea in 2019, and this year in the Indian Ocean. France has a complete army model, if I could say, and units from all of these components are being deployed in the Indo-Pacific. I am thinking in particular of the recent deployment

of the nuclear submarine Emerald with patrols of China and Philippines or the aircraft Rafale fighters and tankers deployed in Tahiti and Hawaii operating with our forces in Tahiti and U.S. forces in Hawaii. Each of these deployments leads to high-level interaction with our strategic partners, in particular, USA and Japan.

Now, do your forces have a partner-building mission as well? And if so, what sort of partner-building missions are you involved in? In fact, in order to ensure security in the Pacific, France is pursuing a strategy of partnerships in a multilateral approach as a person in charge of France's military operation in the area in the Indo-Pacific region I am responsible for implementing the defense component of this strategy in synergy with our major partners in the region, such as the United States and Japan I just mentioned,

as well as with Southeast Asia countries, such as Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia, but also with Korea and Vietnam, with which we maintain high level of relation. We also work with Australia and New Zealand in Oceania and with Chile and other Pacific Rim countries in Latin America. We base these partnerships on the areas of excellence of our permanent forces. I just mentioned the two main areas are state action at sea, or Coast Guard function, and humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, HDR, but also on high-intensity military action as we deploy the aircraft carrier group or an amphibious group or a nuclear submarine. And during regular naval deployments in the region from French territories or from France mainland, the French Navy promotes bilateral and multilateral cooperation.

Since January this year, 2021, we deployed seven ships to the Asia-Pacific region, including an amphibious task group and submarines and frigates. La Perouse exercise conducted in the Bay of Bengal with ships and aircraft from French Navy, Indian Navy, Japanese Navy and the U.S. Navy. and also australia um the the indian and french navy conduct bilateral exercise we call varuna and we we helped this this exercise in april um we conducted um last may ARC-21, another exercise of Japan with France, US and Japanese forces and our naval deployment are all predictable and executed in accordance with

UN clause of course and they are not intended to raise tension in the region. It's an action to develop cooperation. these partnerships create cohesion between our armed forces and make them more credible by helping to establish a common grammar if I could say. This cooperative action strengthens interoperability

at the top of the spectrum. First they imply close coordination between the military staff. We work closely together to set up secure means of communication. Similarly, these partnerships make the situation more complex for potential troublemakers who would like to impede freedom of navigation at sea, create

fait accompli situations, or threaten the balance of the region and the natural resources of the maritime space. Once again, these deployments are also optimized thanks to a network of logistical bases in partners' countries and a network of French officers spread throughout the Asia-Pacific region. I speak about a liaison officer or a defense attaché. This is nothing new, but it is worth repeating in the current context. Regular discussion, mutual trust, sharing of strategic vision with partners in the area,

and the acquisition of a common grammar are necessary for the stability of the region. France is also a member of the WPNS and a massive re-engagement of France in the Indo-Pacific and in the Pacific zone is under progress. So you mentioned Australia and all the other countries that you worked with as a tactical commander. How have you been affected by AUKUS and the Australian decision to purchase U.S. submarines rather than French ones? This decision prepared in secret by the leaders of the three countries, Australia, Great Britain and the United States, was an extremely violent blow to France and its armed forces in particular. Such a betrayal seriously undermines the trust that can be placed in this type of partners. Such a rupture goes against what I mentioned earlier. But on the operational level, however, I must assure cooperation and partnerships,

since the challenges we face compel us to do so. As in the attack on Mercel-Quebert in July 1940, when the Royal Navy killed more than 1,300 French sailors, we must not mistake the enemy. We continue to work together with Australia and the United States with regard to the Indo-Pacific. These two countries, like France, border the Pacific. This was recently the case during the PASCHUS seminar on naval control and during the Pacific Coast Guard seminar we were together with Australia.

Strategically, we must collectively remain firm in our commitment to freedom of movement at sea, but also exemplary in our respect of international law, the fight against climate change and the preservation of the environment. These issues present us with common challenges which can encourage our union. beyond our differences, our political system, our own values, our economic differences. Therefore, we must remain firm again, faithful to our commitments and virtues

in order to stop the spiral of tensions. There's been an increase in European attention and activity in the Indo-Pacific. So CSG-21, the British carrier strike group deployment, includes a Dutch frigate, the deployment of a German frigate, so the Byron is actually sailing around over there right now, the forward deployment of Royal Navy offshore patrol vessels, and then all the French presence that you mentioned there, though that's a longer-term permanent presence. But has France increased its presence as well in the last few years? And do you see the potential for more European cooperation in the Indo-Pacific, Asia-Pacific area? First, unlike the countries you mentioned, France is a coastal nation of the Asia-Pacific. In the Indo-Pacific, 1.6 million French citizens, 9 million square kilometers of EEZ, 7,000 French officers and military personnel, 15 ships, 40 aircraft. We are an asset for our

partners in the European Union. France has implemented a strategy for the Indo-Pacific since 2018, which the President of the Republic, President Macron, updated this year in 2021 and during the France-Oceania summit. On this occasion, he announced a massive re-engagement of France in the area, as I just mentioned. France has equally pressured the EU and European countries to adopt their own Indo-Pacific strategies and to play an increasing role in this region, including the field of security and defence.

The presentation of the European Union strategy on 15 September was a welcome first step even if its announcement was overshadowed if I could say by the announcement of the AUKUS pact

this strategy is nonetheless a major achievement from my point of view and France is ready to play its role as a European guide and facilitator by putting to good use

its solid presence and long experience in the region. It is in this spirit and dynamics that France is preparing to take over the presidency of the European Union Council next January with the objective of setting up more cooperative actions such as the recent European Coordinated Maritime Presence set up on an experimental basis in the Gulf of Guinea. We could do the same in the Indo-Pacific. If this strategy and the will of the European countries,

such as Germany and the Netherlands, could lead to greater cooperation among European actors, then Europe could represent a credible strategic opportunity for many regional actors for whom the current context rightly creates a number of uncertainties and misunderstandings. The European Union intends first to put ASEAN back in the center of regional security affairs and to propose ways to cooperate in order to move towards creating stability and prosperity. On the operational level, we try to take advantage of every opportunity to cooperate with European ships. To mention only recent events, at the end of October last month,

One of our maritime surveillance aircraft joined the fight against the circumvention of UN sanctions by North Korea and was able to implement concrete and operational interaction with the German frigate Bayern in the waters of Japan. This action illustrates France's efforts to always join forces with our European partners and promote a European approach to security and defense issues. So you mentioned the sanctions enforcement against North Korea. In addition to your national missions, your forces have participated in that enforcement since 2018. One of your sailors was quoted as saying, we're the eyes of the United Nations in the area. Do you anticipate that mission continuing? As a matter of fact, since 2018, when Japan gave its agreement for non-American foreign contribution to participate in missions to monitor illicit North Korean

transshipments and for them to be carried out from UNC bases because we need these bases to operate in this area. So since 2018, France has been contributing to this mission. We call it AITO. It means eagle in Tahitian, in which France engaged several times a year, either by integrating aircraft, as was the case for the last mission in October, with the deployment of a Falcon Guardian, or naval vessels, as was the case in February and May this year, 2021, with the deployment of the frigate Prérial and the helicopter carrier Tonnerre. The fight against nuclear proliferation is one of our missions, so our participation in this mission will continue and is already planned for the coming years. Thank you, sir. Is ALPACI doing anything to combat IUU fishings? You had mentioned that some of your ships perform basic Coast Guard functions. Are your naval units participating in fisheries patrols and if you're doing that are you confining those efforts to the french

eez are you working with partner nations in their waters as well to combat illegal fishing we carry out surveillance mission in the az of polynesia and clipperton however we we do no limit ourselves to our EZs, in fact, within the framework of the permanent operation of the Forum Fisheries Agency, FFA, organized by the country bordering the Pacific to fight against illegal fishing. We also patrol the EZ of other Pacific countries. For example, one of my vessels carried out a 10-day maritime surveillance mission in September in the Kiribati EEZ, while another patrolled the area around Easter Island, where it observed the gathering of several Chinese longliners, which it then reported to the country concerned. In addition to this agreement, France wants to develop a Pacific Coast Guard network in liaison with the Pacific Island countries. An inaugural seminar was held last week following the announcement of our president during the last France-Oceania summit I just mentioned before.

And just one final question, sir. Have your ships interacted with units of the Chinese Navy or its auxiliary forces? And how did those interactions unfold? We have many interactions with the Chinese Navy and Air Forces, which are very present in the Far East. They are sometimes aggressive, but even in the rare cases of unjustified Chinese aggression, the professionalism of our crews has enabled us to avoid an incident. As you know, France's strategy in the Indo-Pacific is not directed against any particular actor. As I stated earlier, France is a balancing power and promotes multilateralism and the peaceful resolution of conflict. Therefore, we are not against conducting joint activities with the Chinese army. I will soon have the opportunity

to meet with my Chinese Al-Jarigou Chinese General Officer Unfortunately that's all the time that we have for today sir I'd like to thank my guest Admiral Jean Matre Admiral where can we find you online and what are you working

on next You can follow us on social network on Twitter alpacifrapacom but also if you would like to take the opportunity to practice your French you will find us

on Facebook Force Armée FAPF in addition to continuing our mission we are working to support humanitarian and environmental security with Pacific Island countries and we are

our neighbors and share the same risks and we are committed to this cooperation in HDR with mechanisms such as the France Agreement with

Australia, New Zealand and France and through multilateral exercises such as Maraha exercise we will conduct next May in Bora Bora and around. Well, thank you.

And to the listeners, thanks for tuning in. We'll see you next time. © BF-WATCH TV 2021 Thank you for watching.