Thread by @morcos_pierre

"Your stakes are also our stakes." Important and strong speech by France's new defense minister Sébastien Lecornu (@SebLecornu) today at @IISS_org Shangri-La Dialogue (#SLD22). A thread with some highlights👇

"France is a resident nation of the Indo-Pacific. This means that our engagement in this vast region is one of the intangible elements of our sovereignty and of our security and defense policy."

"This is the reason why our Presidency of the Council of the European Union strongly promoted concrete actions for the benefit of this region [on] maritime security, connectivity, cybersecurity, or the fight against disinformation."

"The Russian aggression against Ukraine brought to light a double reality. The threats against the security of Europe are threats for the rest of the world. Conversely, the security threats elsewhere in the world continue to be a priority for Europe."

"The invasion of 🇺🇦 is a fundamental challenge for the international order. This threatens the security of states everywhere in the world. We do not want the illegal use of force to become a new standard especially when this is associated with revisionist & expansionist aims."

"The reemergence of tensions in the South China Sea and the threat it represents for the access to common area is a testimony of [the growing competition in the Indo-Pacific]."

"We are attached to peace and stability in the Strait of Taiwan where a crisis could have devastating consequences for all, even beyond the region."

"This power competition comes along with other security challenges from the predation of resources (fishing, mining) to the consequences of climate change. France will stand by all the countries to face these phenomena."

"As a nation of the Indo-Pacific, France is experiencing very directly these tensions. More than two million French citizens live in overseas territories. I know these citizens very well as I have been minister of the Overseas for two years."

"Our Indo-Pacific strategy aims at defending multilateralism, international rules, the freedom of access to common areas, a collective and inclusive approach to the security challenges, including those related to climate change."

"We have permanent and significant military assets deployed in the area. These capabilities operate in the entire area and have many supporting points that we will consolidate with our partners. Today France and Singapore will notably sign a mutual logistic agreement."

"France has an intervention capability over the entire area and develops the interoperability of its forces with those of our partners, especially the United States".

"This commitment of French armed forces will continue. This year, an air power projection mission, Pegase22, will start from France to carry out a sovereignty mission in the Pacific."

"France will continue to modernize its capabilities, with the permanent deployment, by 2025, of six new patrol ships, and new and modern surveillance aircrafts."

"This commitment is cooperative by essence. The French strategy is not aimed against any State. Our partnerships are not aimed at fueling tensions but at making sure that each State can contribute to the regional security architecture."

"France remains very attached to the central role of ASEAN. That is why, France would like to join the ADMM+ to provide its expertise on maritime security or peacekeeping."

"In the South Pacific, France is totally committed alongside island countries, in the field of population relief after natural disasters or the fight against illegal fishing. We carry out this commitment especially in the framework of the Pacific Quad and the FRANZ partnership."

Answering a question on the future of the 🇫🇷🇦🇺 partnership, minister Lecornu underlined that "there are ups and downs in all relations between countries but Australia has always been there in difficult times, as witnessed in WWI".

"We are also neighbors, this an unchanging reality. We have also two new governments in Paris and Canberra. I will meet with my new Australian counterpart to define a common agenda".

Full speech here: [End]