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Report
Macron tours Asia amid US-China rivalry
FRANCE 24 English
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5/25/2025
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00:00
French President Emmanuel Macron begins a tour of Southeast Asia this Sunday, starting with Vietnam.
00:05
That will be the first visit there by a French leader in nearly a decade.
00:09
Now, the trip is part of France's push to try and deepen economic ties in the region,
00:14
counter China and America's influence.
00:16
Macron will also be in a tricky position,
00:18
increase ties with governments while navigating tensions over their human rights record
00:22
and also dealing with the legacy of France's colonial past.
00:27
Joining me on the set is our senior reporter, Clovis Casali,
00:30
also our former Southeast Asia correspondent.
00:34
Clovis, when we're looking at this trip, what does Emmanuel Macron want to get out of it?
00:40
What's the aim of this visit?
00:41
Well, first, there's going to be three stops.
00:44
Vietnam, Indonesia, Singapore.
00:46
As always with these trips, the aim is to strengthen cultural, political ties and strike business deals.
00:52
The three nations are strategic partners in the so-called Indo-Pacific region.
00:57
Delhi is telling us also that with 700 million inhabitants,
01:02
the area is the most dynamic in the world in terms of business.
01:07
It's also a region very much caught in between the US and China,
01:10
with the two superpowers battling for ever more influence.
01:14
China on the offensive, again, more than ever when it comes to economic gains,
01:19
trying to make economic and territorial gains.
01:22
I think the most explicit example is certainly Taiwan, of course.
01:26
Then on the other hand, you've got the US, now Donald Trump in charge,
01:31
focusing on the Indo-Pacific region rather than Europe and Ukraine.
01:36
The US, very strong military presence there.
01:40
And at the same time, waging a trade war with Southeast Asian nations,
01:44
like with most of the world.
01:46
So now France and Europe seeking a third way.
01:50
They want to show that they support the rule of law.
01:53
They respect international trade rules and treaties without bullying partners.
01:59
France particularly keen on that.
02:02
France also a strong player in the Indo-Pacific
02:05
because it has its territory of New Caledonia.
02:09
It has 1.5 million French citizens in the area.
02:13
And that's important.
02:14
Emmanuel Macron's unveiled, in the past, the Indo-Pacific doctrine that some here are calling
02:20
the Macron doctrine.
02:23
He unveiled it back in 2018.
02:26
I was a Southeast Asia correspondent at the time for France 24.
02:30
And I followed Emmanuel Macron to Australia, where he unveiled that strategy.
02:35
And he explained a bit more what he meant during a joint press conference with the Australian
02:41
Prime Minister at the time, Malcolm Turnbull.
02:44
Here's a soundbite from our archives of Emmanuel Macron 2018 in Sydney.
02:49
Now, what's important is to preserve a rule-based development in the region, especially in Indo-Pacific
02:57
region, and is to preserve the necessary balances in the region.
03:04
And it's important with this, precisely this new context, not to have any hegemony in the region.
03:11
And that's why, for me, this partnership is a very important way to progress.
03:17
Interesting to see that that hegemony is still going on, with the US even stepping up efforts
03:23
to counter Chinese plans.
03:25
A lot of work also to do for Europe, because you heard Emmanuel Macron back in 2018 saying
03:31
that it was great, this partnership with Australia.
03:33
Well, remember, a few years back, France felt that it had been completely betrayed by Australia
03:38
when at the very last minute it decided to turn its back on a planned deal to buy French
03:45
submarines.
03:45
Australia choosing instead to buy submarines from the UK and from the US.
03:53
And France saying at the time that it felt that it was backstabbing.
03:57
So important moments and relations have improved since between France and Australia.
04:04
So three stops on his itinerary.
04:07
What more can you tell us about the agenda?
04:09
Macron is arriving in a few hours in Hanoi, Vietnam, once part of the French colonial power.
04:17
France doesn't want to revisit those dark hours of its past, or at least put it behind them.
04:22
France instead says that the relationship with Vietnam needs to be based on nothing else but
04:28
respect, common interests.
04:31
Last week, you had Chinese President Xi Jinping, Chinese leader Xi Jinping, in Vietnam.
04:37
He met with the Vietnamese leader, Emmanuel Macron also meeting this time with the Vietnamese leader
04:42
to promote cultural ties, business, possibly also when it comes to nuclear energy, with France
04:49
extremely strong in that area.
04:51
Nuclear energy, also a key part, and business deals, with Indonesia, which has the largest
04:57
Muslim population in the world.
05:00
Indonesia possibly looking to buy French weapons also, while it has in the past turned to Russia
05:06
to buy weapons.
05:08
So that's a key point also for France and Europe.
05:12
France, the Elyse tells us, Emmanuel Macron will also probably talk about the situation in
05:17
the Middle East, Indonesia, particularly concerned, like a lot of people in the world, with what's
05:24
going on in Gaza, the humanitarian tragedy.
05:27
Emmanuel Macron, a few days ago, using strong words like never before, saying that the government,
05:35
Benjamin Netanyahu's government and the war undertaken waged in Gaza, while it was currently
05:40
unacceptable, with, of course, the humanitarian tragedy and many civilians killed in operations.
05:48
While France, of course, says Israel has the right to defend itself against Hamas, it must
05:53
protect, by all means, civilian lives in Gaza, and it's currently not the case.
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