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French warship docks in Vietnam as foreign powers step up in South China Sea

Zachary Haver/Radio Free Asia

A French frigate docked at Cam Ranh Port in Vietnam in March 2021, the latest sign that foreign powers are pushing back against the People’s Republic of China’s (PRC’s) assertive behavior and expansive claims in the South China Sea.

In February 2021, France’s defense minister announced that a French nuclear attack submarine and an accompanying support ship had completed a patrol in the South China Sea, and U.S. forces have repeatedly conducted freedom of navigation operations and other maneuvers in the contested waters since the start of the year.

The frigate, Prairial, came to Cam Ranh Port for helicopter repairs, the VnExpress online newspaper reported. The French ambassador to Vietnam said that “the frigate’s visit at this time is meant to deliver a message in support of freedom of navigation in the air and at sea, which is shared by both Vietnam and France,” according to VnExpress. (Pictured: The French frigate Prairial docked at Cam Ranh Port, Vietnam, on March 9, 2021.)

Naval assets from France, Germany and the United Kingdom are scheduled to transit the area in 2021. It is home to a series of competing maritime and territorial claims among Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, the PRC, Taiwan and Vietnam. While Indonesia does not regard itself as party to the South China Sea dispute, the PRC claims historic rights to parts of the sea overlapping Indonesia’s exclusive economic zone.

In response to the PRC’s assertive moves, states without territorial claims are increasing their involvement in the South China Sea disputes through diplomatic and military means.

For example, during a recent call with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga “expressed serious concerns regarding unilateral attempts to change the status quo in the East and South China Sea,” Japan’s Foreign Ministry said.

Similarly, during bilateral security discussions in March 2021, Japan and the U.S. reiterated those concerns, citing the CCP’s new law allowing its coast guard to use force to defend the PRC’s expansive maritime claims, according to the U.S. State Department.

The law has generated backlash regionally and internationally.

In January 2021, Japan joined France, Indonesia, Malaysia, the U.K., the U.S., Vietnam and other countries in rejecting the PRC’s maritime claims in a diplomatic note to the United Nations.

The U.S. government, which began deepening its involvement in the South China Sea around 2010, is welcoming increased attention from other states.

Adm. Philip Davidson, commander of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, said that “one of the efforts that we have deliberately undertaken is to make sure that the international community understands that it’s not a U.S.-China issue in the South China Sea, it is the freedom of communication issue for the international community through that water.”

Davidson commended countries such as Australia, France, India, Japan, the Philippines and Vietnam for their efforts, including participating in exercises and raising the South China Sea issue in multinational forums.

 

IMAGE CREDIT: FRENCH EMBASSY IN VIETNAM

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