France
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Partnerships
Indonesia hosts Super Garuda Shield 2023 to promote regional stability
Gusty Da Costa The multilateral, multi-force military exercise Super Garuda Shield 2023 kicked off August 31 in Indonesia’s East Java province. Seven countries, including Australia, France, Indonesia, Japan, Singapore, the United Kingdom and the United States, together deployed about 5,000 troops and various defense assets. Twelve additional nations sent observers. Australian Army M1A1 Abrams main battle tanks and various support…
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Global Commons
Pégase 23 bolsters French Indo-Pacific presence
FORUM Staff The distress call came at dusk on July 10, 2023. A recreational fishing boat with 11 people aboard was adrift in heavy seas west of Rota, an island about 74 kilometers north-northeast of Guam. A French Air and Space Force crew was concluding a Mobility Guardian 23 training exercise with American and British colleagues. The Guam-based drills supported…
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Oceania
Coalition forces training in Indo-Pacific rescue 11 people aboard vessel floundering in high seas
Senior Airman Tiffany Del Oso/Air Mobility Command Public Affairs/U.S. Air Force Canadian, French and United States military forces deviated from training off the Northern Mariana Islands to rescue 11 people on a disabled vessel adrift in dangerous seas in early July 2023, the U.S. Coast Guard reported. The forces were participating in Mobility Guardian 23 (MG23) along with civilian and…
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Free and Open Indo-Pacific/FOIP
French Navy frigate Prairial concludes Indo-Pacific mission
FORUM Staff The French Navy frigate Prairial’s monthslong patrol and goodwill mission to the Indo-Pacific reinforced France’s commitment to regional security, freedom of navigation and the international rule of law. The 94-meter, Floreal-class warship with about 100 personnel left Papeete, the capital of Tahiti in French Polynesia, on February 21, 2023, and was scheduled to return May 18. The frigate…
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Northeast Asia
G-7 diplomats reject North Korean, PRC, Russian aggression
The Associated Press Top diplomats from the Group of Seven democracies vowed a tough stance on the People’s Republic of China’s (PRC) threats to Taiwan and on North Korea’s tests of long-range missiles, while discussing ways to boost support for Ukraine and punish Russia for its invasion. The envoys’ talks in Karuizawa, Japan, in mid-April 2023 were meant to pave…
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Illicit Activity
French warships seize massive drug haul in Indian Ocean
FORUM Staff Two French Navy warships seized more than 1,000 kilograms of heroin, hashish and methamphetamine valued at U.S. $38 million from two vessels in the western Indian Ocean in March 2023 as part of a long-running European Union maritime security mission. The illegal drugs were interdicted under the EU Naval Force (EUNAVFOR) Somalia’s Operation Atalanta, which includes anti-piracy and…
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Key Issues
France-India naval exercise deepens strategic partnership
FORUM Staff France and India concluded the latest iteration of their long-running naval exercise Varuna in the Indian Ocean in late January 2023 as they celebrate 25 years of strategic partnership and work toward “an ambitious agenda for renewing, expanding and deepening their cooperation.” A French Navy carrier strike group (CSG) led by the nuclear-powered flagship Charles de Gaulle joined…
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Illicit Activity
France bolsters multinational effort to uphold North Korea sanctions
FORUM Staff France contributed additional support in October and November 2022 to an international force tasked with deterring nuclear proliferation in North Korea. The Armed Forces in French Polynesia deployed a Falcon F-200 Guardian aircraft, pictured, to provide maritime surveillance with the multinational Enforcement Coordination Cell (ECC) headquartered in Yokosuka, Japan. As part of the coalition, France works alongside Australia,…
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Key Issues
Exercises Pitch Black and Pégase sustain strategic partnerships
FORUM Staff The largest-ever Exercise Pitch Black brought together about 2,500 military personnel and 100 aircraft from 17 nations for training and relationship building at Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) bases from mid-August to early September 2022. The biennial exercise took place amid increased tensions in the Indo-Pacific region, with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) staging live-fire drills around Taiwan…
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Key Issues
EU, Southeast Asia to hold first full summit amid security fears
Reuters European Union (EU) and Southeast Asian nations will hold their first full summit in December 2022, a sign that the two blocs are looking for closer ties amid concerns about security threats from the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and Russia, officials told Reuters. The summit, to be held in Brussels on December 14, 2022, is seen as a…
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