India and France have agreed to intensify maritime cooperation in the Indo-Pacific and increase the number of naval visits by military forces in an effort to build a balanced and stable order in the strategically important region with respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of SAGAR (Security and Growth for All in the Region) and President Emmanuel Macron’s vision of security and cooperation outlined in France’s Indo-Pacific Strategy are very much aligned, the “India-France Indo-Pacific Plan” said. ”, released after bilateral talks between the two leaders here on Friday.
France has a significant presence in the Indo-Pacific region in territories such as Réunion Island, New Caledonia and French Polynesia, home to nearly 1.5 million people. The territory also serves as a military base for France in the region.
India is participating in coordinated surveillance missions with the French Navy on Reunion Island using its P8I long-range maritime reconnaissance aircraft.
Earlier at a joint press event with Macron, Modi said on Friday that India and France have a special responsibility to ensure peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific.
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Both countries also pledged to increase naval visits and develop defense industrial capabilities in India and jointly support the needs of other countries.
India and France said they will continue to work together to expand development cooperation to countries in the region, including Africa, the Indian Ocean region, South Asia, Southeast Asia and the Pacific.
The two countries said they will work together to advance the goals of the Indo-Pacific Initiative, which aims to address common challenges in the region through joint actions under its seven pillars.
India and France have also committed to setting up an Indo-French Health Campus for the Indo-Pacific with the aim of making it a regional magnet for research and academia. Based on the experience in the Indian Ocean, we can consider opening a campus for Pacific Islanders, they said.
The two countries said that under the leadership of France in the pillar of marine resources, they will work together to implement practical projects in cooperation with and within various bilateral, regional and global initiatives of both sides to create an ecosystem for the sustainable development of marine resources and to combat activities such as is illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing.
China is involved in hotly contested territorial disputes in the South and East China Seas. Beijing has also made significant progress in militarizing its man-made islands in the past few years.
Beijing claims sovereignty over the entire South China Sea. However, Vietnam, Malaysia, the Philippines, Brunei and Taiwan have counterclaims.
