Why France must join: Turning the Quintet into a Sextet
The Interpreter – Lowy Institute
“France is not merely a European actor, it is an Indo-Pacific power with sovereign territory, military bases, and extensive diplomatic, economic and cultural ties in the region. A coalition seeking credibility, balance, and resilience should not be a Quintet. It should be a Sextet.”
“This is not about symbolism or European vanity. It is tempting to reduce France to a continental European state bound up in Brussels. The reality is different. France is one of the few genuinely global middle powers, straddling both Europe and the Indo-Pacific in ways even post-Brexit Britain cannot.”
“France governs nearly 1.6 million citizens in the Indo-Pacific, from New Caledonia and French Polynesia to Réunion and Mayotte. These are not colonies but integral parts of the Republic. Thanks to these territories, France holds the world’s second-largest exclusive economic zone, much of it in the Indo-Pacific. Its resources, fisheries, and seabed deposits make Paris a central stakeholder in maritime security.”
“France also issued its Indo-Pacific strategy in 2018, years before Britain’s ’tilt.’ Paris defines itself as a resident power, not a visitor. More than 7,000 French troops are stationed in the Indo-Pacific, with bases from Djibouti to Réunion and New Caledonia. French patrols regularly operate in the South China Sea and Indian Ocean alongside Australian, Japanese and American forces.”
https://www.lowyinstitute.org/the-interpreter/why-france-must-join-turning-quintet-sextet
See also: Why the United Kingdom and the Indo-Pacific Four should form a new Quintet