France’s first deployment of a carrier strike group (CSG) to the Indo-Pacific in 60 years has allowed its navy to not only deepen its operational understanding of the complex region but also to learn from and boost interoperability with partner nations, the commander of the Charles De Gaulle CSG told The Japan Times.
“You have to deploy to understand an area,” Rear Adm. Jacques Mallard said in an interview when asked about the lessons learned from the service’s ongoing Clemenceau 25 mission.
The CSG on Tuesday concluded the French Navy’s first-ever joint carrier maneuvers with the United States and Japan in the Philippine Sea. Those maneuvers, which also involved the USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier and the JS Kaga helicopter carrier, were part of the Pacific Steller drills.
“In the field of air-sea operations from an aircraft carrier, you have to face up to the reality on the ground to understand the complexity and the issues, whether technical (geography, meteorology, occupation of air-sea space) or politico-military (territorial disputes, interactions at sea and in the air, dialogue dynamics),” Mallard said.
“Deploying to the Pacific has enabled us to learn more quickly because of the multitude of activities we are involved in.”
Another important takeaway pertains to logistics, he said.
“We have further developed our ability to last far and long by diversifying our logistics options,” Mallard said, noting that the CSG — which began its deployment in late November — made its first stop in Lombok and Bali, in Indonesia, as part of a drive to develop support points.
At the same time, France’s rare CSG deployment to the Indo-Pacific has seen partner navies train together and boost interoperability, a testament, he said, to the solidity of France’s regional defense partnerships, particularly with Japan.
The training carried out in all combat areas “has enabled us to significantly increase our levels of interoperability, whether in the field of secure communications, procedures, the sharing of tactical operational analyses or integration within a force,” Mallard noted.
But interoperability, he said, is not just a technical issue.
“Of course, we need common procedures and equipment that enable us to communicate and exchange information. ... However, beyond technology, there is the ability to get to know each other as partners and understand what links us and what differentiates us,” he said.
In this regard, the CSG commander described working alongside Japanese and American forces during the Pacific Steller exercise as an “incredible opportunity.” The 10-day carrier drills were meant to strengthen the three nations’ collective capacity to prevent crises and deal with hybrid threats.
Mallard noted that interoperability with Japanese forces has made “considerable progress” in recent years, thanks to the numerous and regular deployments of French Navy vessels, as well as joint exercises conducted within bilateral and multilateral frameworks.
Indeed, Tokyo and Paris have been deepening military ties in recent years, carrying out several joint maneuvers on land, such as the Brunet-Takamori exercises, and at sea, including the Oguri-Verny drills. Moreover, Japan regularly welcomes French Navy vessels on port calls, while numerous Japanese units have made stopovers in French territories in the area such as in Noumea and Papeete.
Cooperation in the air is also growing fast, as highlighted by the deployment of French Rafale fighter aircraft and other assets under Paris’ Pegase missions over the past two years.
The expanding level of bilateral cooperation, which now extends to cyber and space, was also on display during Clemenceau 25, when two CSG warships — a multimission frigate and the Jacques Chevallier supply ship — docked at the White Beach naval facility in Okinawa Prefecture. The visits, however, did not include the Charles De Gaulle itself.
The stopover, which came after the two ships carried out patrols to support the enforcement of United Nations sanctions on North Korea, provided an opportunity for logistical resupply, which the CSG commander said “perfectly illustrated the interoperability between France, Japan and the United States.”
The Clemenceau 25 mission has seen the CSG sail across the Indian Ocean, the Java Sea, the Celebes Sea and the Philippine Sea, with the French fleet making several stopovers in the region and carrying out activities with the navies of partner nations such as India, Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Australia, Canada and the Philippines.
The CSG is a “powerful lever for cooperation and interoperability,” Mallard said.
“We have learned from each other's operational methods in all areas of combat, as well as from our partners' knowledge and experience of the Indo-Pacific such as understanding of the environment and its constraints.”
The deployment has also seen a number of important firsts in the area of support, he said, including the Jacques Chevallier’s first refueling at sea of Australian and Japanese vessels.
Speaking to reporters on Feb. 7, Defense Minister Gen Nakatani referred to France’s CSG deployment as “evidence of the French Navy's will and ability to engage in the Indo-Pacific region.”
A member of NATO, France is also the only European country to have a permanent military presence in the region, counting 7,000 military personnel. With seven of its 13 overseas departments, regions and communities situated in either the Indian Ocean or the South Pacific, Paris has long emphasized the importance of the Indo-Pacific.
Its territories in the two oceans are home to about 1.65 million French nationals and about 93% of France’s exclusive economic zone. With regional and global tensions now on the rise, Paris is seeking to gradually reinforce its military footprint in the area.
While a key driver behind Clemenceau 25 has been the need to enhance interoperability amid rising global tensions, the mission is also designed to demonstrate the French Navy’s ability to operate over long distances and for extended periods. By doing so, the deployment has not only highlighted France’s power projection capabilities in the Indo-Pacific but also served as an important tool for defense diplomacy.
“The Indo-Pacific is the world’s new center of gravity," Rear Adm. Guillaume Pinget, the French military’s Pacific commander, told The Japan Times during a visit to Tokyo in December.
“France sees cooperation and partnerships as key to facing the challenges that lie ahead,” Pinget said at the time, adding that Paris is planning to increase the number of military assets and personnel operating in the South Pacific by 2030.
Mallard said that the French Navy's future regional actions will be a continuation of the efforts it has been making for many years. The navy “is adapting to a climate of growing tension by advocating the rejection of a bloc logic,” he said, noting that the various activities conducted throughout Clemenceau 25 “illustrate this ambition in very concrete terms.”
The coming weeks will see the French CSG conduct bilateral activities with the Philippines, Vietnam and Malaysia, before it takes part in the 42nd edition of the Varuna naval exercise with India, which will mark the end of the strike group's Indo-Pacific deployment phase.
France’s Clemenceau 25 mission comes as European nations have been expanding their military presence in the Indo-Pacific in recent years, including with aircraft and warship deployments. The Italian Navy's aircraft carrier, the ITS Cavour, visited Japan in late August and the British Prince of Wales CSG will also deploy to the region later this year.
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