French Carrier Visits Philippines After South China Sea Drills

France's nuclear-powered aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle arrived in the Philippines after joint military exercises with Filipino forces in the disputed South China Sea. This show of force is likely to raise tensions with China, which claims sovereignty over most of the waterway.

The Charles de Gaulle docked at Subic Bay for a break after its deployment in the Indo-Pacific region. The carrier engaged in activities with regional partners, including the Philippines, to promote regional security and contingency preparedness. These activities included anti-submarine warfare drills and aerial combat training in the South China Sea.

"We aim to deepen our cooperation with regional partners with whom we share common values such as upholding international law and ensuring freedom of navigation in shared maritime spaces," French Ambassador to Manila Marie Fontanel said.

Fontanel emphasized the importance of promoting and protecting international law and cooperation, especially in the context of the disputed South China Sea. Last year, the French navy participated in joint naval exercises with the United States and the Philippines in the disputed waters, drawing strong criticism from China.

The recent and ongoing French military deployments to the Philippines underscore France's commitment to regional security and its shared goal of strengthening maritime cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region. The Charles de Gaulle, the only nuclear-powered aircraft carrier in the world outside of the U.S. Navy, led a strike group that included three destroyer warships and an oil replenishment ship in its first-ever visit to the Philippines.

France has been actively engaging with the Philippines and other Southeast Asian nations that have territorial disputes with China in the South China Sea. However, France maintains that its emergency-preparedness actions are not aimed at any particular country.

China, on the other hand, has expressed strong opposition to the presence of foreign forces, particularly the U.S. military and its allies, conducting military exercises or patrols in the South China Sea. Beijing claims almost the entirety of the South China Sea, despite overlapping claims from the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei, and Taiwan.

The territorial disputes in the South China Sea have been a source of ongoing tension in the region. In a recent incident, an Australian P-8 Poseidon surveillance jet was harassed by a Chinese J-16 fighter jet, which released flares within close proximity of the Australian aircraft.

In an effort to strengthen regional security cooperation, France and the Philippines signed an accord in late 2023 to boost military cooperation and joint engagements. The two countries are also in talks on a defense pact that would allow troops from each country to hold exercises in the other's territory.