{"id":81731,"date":"2023-08-16T11:00:53","date_gmt":"2023-08-16T01:00:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/?p=81731"},"modified":"2023-08-16T10:51:01","modified_gmt":"2023-08-16T00:51:01","slug":"australia-france-and-finding-equilibrium-in-southeast-asia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/australia-france-and-finding-equilibrium-in-southeast-asia\/","title":{"rendered":"Australia, France and finding equilibrium in Southeast Asia"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/figure>\n

Australia and France have made significant strides towards repairing their diplomatic relationship in the nearly two years since Australia\u2019s cancellation of its submarine contract with French company Naval Group. Technically, they are close neighbours, sharing a long maritime border in the Pacific. While French President Emmanuel Macron didn\u2019t drop by Canberra during his \u2018historic\u2019 Pacific tour last month<\/a>, his visit reinforced that a committed and energised France can complement Australia\u2019s efforts in the region.<\/p>\n

In addition to announcing<\/a> new environmental initiatives, including to protect rainforests, Macron made a powerful statement denouncing malign Chinese influence in the Indo-Pacific, describing<\/a> a \u2018new imperialism appearing, and a power logic that is threatening the sovereignty of several states\u2014the smallest, often the most fragile\u2019.<\/p>\n

Franco-Australian cooperation has bilateral benefits, but just as importantly enhances both countries\u2019 roles as development and security partners for the whole Indo-Pacific. Individually, each state has much to contribute to the region: Australia as an active middle power and France with its significant naval strength. If both Canberra and Paris want to strengthen the regional order and mitigate the effects of strategic competition, they should find ways to jointly cooperate with Southeast Asia\u2014the self-declared epicentre of the Indo-Pacific.<\/p>\n

Southeast Asian states are looking for reliable partners amid intensifying US\u2013China strategic competition. According to the 2023 State of Southeast Asia survey<\/a>, the region\u2019s most trusted partner for hedging against the uncertainties of this strategic rivalry is the EU, though there\u2019s scepticism about its capacity and political will for global leadership. With Macron\u2019s vision for his country as a puissance d\u2019\u00e9quilibre<\/em> that keeps regional powers in balance and a clear Indo-Pacific strategy, France has shown that it\u2019s willing to do more in the region. As a \u2018resident nation\u2019 (une nation residente<\/em>) in the Indo-Pacific, France\u2019s Minister of the Armed Forces S\u00e9bastien Lecornu has declared to the region<\/a> that \u2018your stakes are our stakes\u2019 (vos enjeux sont les n\u00f4tres<\/em>).<\/p>\n

For its part, Australia is one of only four countries with a comprehensive strategic partnership with ASEAN. Canberra\u2019s \u2018strategic equilibrium<\/a>\u2019 narrative aligns well with France\u2019s stance. Deepening ties with Southeast Asia and working to help it achieve its development priorities with partners such as France would give credence to Australia\u2019s words on ASEAN centrality<\/a>. For Southeast Asian countries that are hesitant to explicitly take a side in US\u2013China competition, further cooperation could build Australia\u2019s credibility as an Indo-Pacific partner.<\/p>\n

However, Southeast Asia is a crowded and contested space, and Australia and France have so far identified few reasons for close bilateral coordination there. That\u2019s despite the fact that they have a significant Southeast Asian presence already, both diplomatically (Australia has 16 posts<\/a> in the region and France 11<\/a>) and as development partners (Australia has committed $1.2 billion<\/a> in aid to the region in 2023\u201324 and France contributed $1.3 billion<\/a> in 2020).<\/p>\n

The key is for Canberra and Paris to play to their strengths. Maritime security is of enduring interest to Southeast Asia and the wider Indo-Pacific, particularly where trade routes are concerned. Australia and France could build on joint transits<\/a> in the South China Sea, the last of which occurred in 2021, and on their mutual interest in maritime domain awareness and supporting Southeast Asian efforts to counter illegal fishing.<\/p>\n

Southeast Asia\u2019s leaders often call for strengthening of ASEAN centrality and thus ASEAN-centric architecture. The ASEAN Defence Ministers\u2019 Meeting and its working groups is an ideal place to do this, given that France is an ADMM observer and Australia is a member of ADMM-Plus.<\/p>\n

Another critical area is climate change. In July, Australia committed $50 million<\/a> to support Indonesia\u2019s green-energy transition and Western Australia pledged to take further steps to support Jakarta\u2019s nascent electric vehicle industry<\/a>. At the January 2023 France\u2013Australia ministerial consultations<\/a>, the two countries articulated other ASEAN priorities on which they could work more closely, such as connectivity and economic cooperation.<\/p>\n

Aside from Southeast Asia-wide cooperation, deepening trilateral engagement between Indonesia, Australia and France would have benefits. As the only Indo-Pacific states with territory in both the Indian and Pacific Oceans, the three countries have a special stake in the region. In France\u2019s case, a \u2018powerful strategic intimacy\u2019 is emerging<\/a> between Jakarta and Paris based mainly on Indonesian defence acquisitions<\/a> from French manufacturers. Paris\u2019s burgeoning defence<\/a> relationship with Jakarta<\/a> was demonstrated most recently with a deal<\/a> to supply fighter jets and submarines to the Indonesian military.<\/p>\n

At the recent Australia\u2013Indonesia leaders\u2019 meeting in Sydney, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese endorsed plans to upgrade bilateral defence ties to the treaty level<\/a>. Greater maritime capacity in the Indonesian navy, supported by French capability and Australian training, would allow Jakarta to do more with its partners. There\u2019s also value in exchanging views trilaterally on maritime security, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief (particularly how the FRANZ Arrangement<\/a> between France, Australia and New Zealand could engage Indonesia), and environmentally resilient infrastructure.<\/p>\n

This would not necessarily need to start at, or grow to, the official or ministerial level to be useful. A Track 1.5 or Track 2 dialogue is a more feasible and less complicated starting point for the grouping. In proposing such as dialogue, Australia must be aware of how it would fit within the already crowded minilateral space in the region and Indonesia\u2019s appetite for engaging with it. But it could give Australia an opportunity to address Indonesian concerns<\/a> about its strategic outlook<\/a> since the announcement of AUKUS in the context of a security dialogue with France, which is perceived as being more independent of the US alliance system.<\/p>\n

Of course, Australia and France have other commitments to the Indo-Pacific and in other parts of the world. Still, when it comes to supporting Southeast Asia, two heads working together are better than one.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Australia and France have made significant strides towards repairing their diplomatic relationship in the nearly two years since Australia\u2019s cancellation of its submarine contract with French company Naval Group. Technically, they are close neighbours, sharing …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":81735,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[17,291,56,8,25],"class_list":["post-81731","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general","tag-australia","tag-france","tag-indo-pacific","tag-indonesia","tag-southeast-asia"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nAustralia, France and finding equilibrium in Southeast Asia | The Strategist<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/australia-france-and-finding-equilibrium-in-southeast-asia\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Australia, France and finding equilibrium in Southeast Asia | The Strategist\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Australia and France have made significant strides towards repairing their diplomatic relationship in the nearly two years since Australia\u2019s cancellation of its submarine contract with French company Naval Group. Technically, they are close neighbours, sharing ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/australia-france-and-finding-equilibrium-in-southeast-asia\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Strategist\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ASPI.org\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-08-16T01:00:53+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-08-16T00:51:01+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/20230428army8629169_0502.jpg.iieZ5rvXMWnXKadjYBMA.hQ-bd7qQRx.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"668\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Natalie Sambhi\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@ASPI_org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@ASPI_org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Natalie Sambhi\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/\",\"name\":\"The Strategist\",\"description\":\"ASPI's analysis and commentary site\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\"},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/australia-france-and-finding-equilibrium-in-southeast-asia\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/20230428army8629169_0502.jpg.iieZ5rvXMWnXKadjYBMA.hQ-bd7qQRx.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/20230428army8629169_0502.jpg.iieZ5rvXMWnXKadjYBMA.hQ-bd7qQRx.jpg\",\"width\":1000,\"height\":668},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/australia-france-and-finding-equilibrium-in-southeast-asia\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/australia-france-and-finding-equilibrium-in-southeast-asia\/\",\"name\":\"Australia, France and finding equilibrium in Southeast Asia | The Strategist\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/australia-france-and-finding-equilibrium-in-southeast-asia\/#primaryimage\"},\"datePublished\":\"2023-08-16T01:00:53+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-08-16T00:51:01+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/#\/schema\/person\/04ffc785366d3b75a31b655d5dd38e98\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/australia-france-and-finding-equilibrium-in-southeast-asia\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/australia-france-and-finding-equilibrium-in-southeast-asia\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/australia-france-and-finding-equilibrium-in-southeast-asia\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Australia, France and finding equilibrium in Southeast Asia\"}]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/#\/schema\/person\/04ffc785366d3b75a31b655d5dd38e98\",\"name\":\"Natalie Sambhi\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/2fcc169f10f85de6443d93e8f0d89414?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/2fcc169f10f85de6443d93e8f0d89414?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Natalie Sambhi\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/author\/natalie-sambhi\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Australia, France and finding equilibrium in Southeast Asia | The Strategist","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/australia-france-and-finding-equilibrium-in-southeast-asia\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Australia, France and finding equilibrium in Southeast Asia | The Strategist","og_description":"Australia and France have made significant strides towards repairing their diplomatic relationship in the nearly two years since Australia\u2019s cancellation of its submarine contract with French company Naval Group. Technically, they are close neighbours, sharing ...","og_url":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/australia-france-and-finding-equilibrium-in-southeast-asia\/","og_site_name":"The Strategist","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ASPI.org","article_published_time":"2023-08-16T01:00:53+00:00","article_modified_time":"2023-08-16T00:51:01+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1000,"height":668,"url":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/20230428army8629169_0502.jpg.iieZ5rvXMWnXKadjYBMA.hQ-bd7qQRx.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Natalie Sambhi","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@ASPI_org","twitter_site":"@ASPI_org","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Natalie Sambhi","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/","name":"The Strategist","description":"ASPI's analysis and commentary site","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-AU"},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-AU","@id":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/australia-france-and-finding-equilibrium-in-southeast-asia\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/20230428army8629169_0502.jpg.iieZ5rvXMWnXKadjYBMA.hQ-bd7qQRx.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/20230428army8629169_0502.jpg.iieZ5rvXMWnXKadjYBMA.hQ-bd7qQRx.jpg","width":1000,"height":668},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/australia-france-and-finding-equilibrium-in-southeast-asia\/","url":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/australia-france-and-finding-equilibrium-in-southeast-asia\/","name":"Australia, France and finding equilibrium in Southeast Asia | The Strategist","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/australia-france-and-finding-equilibrium-in-southeast-asia\/#primaryimage"},"datePublished":"2023-08-16T01:00:53+00:00","dateModified":"2023-08-16T00:51:01+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/#\/schema\/person\/04ffc785366d3b75a31b655d5dd38e98"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/australia-france-and-finding-equilibrium-in-southeast-asia\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-AU","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/australia-france-and-finding-equilibrium-in-southeast-asia\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/australia-france-and-finding-equilibrium-in-southeast-asia\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Australia, France and finding equilibrium in Southeast Asia"}]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/#\/schema\/person\/04ffc785366d3b75a31b655d5dd38e98","name":"Natalie Sambhi","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-AU","@id":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/2fcc169f10f85de6443d93e8f0d89414?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/2fcc169f10f85de6443d93e8f0d89414?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Natalie Sambhi"},"url":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/author\/natalie-sambhi\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81731"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=81731"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81731\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":81740,"href":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81731\/revisions\/81740"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/81735"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=81731"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=81731"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=81731"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}