Macron tours Asia amid US-China rivalry

FRANCE 24 English

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00:00French President Emmanuel Macron begins a tour of Southeast Asia this Sunday, starting with Vietnam.

00:05That will be the first visit there by a French leader in nearly a decade.

00:09Now, the trip is part of France's push to try and deepen economic ties in the region,

00:14counter China and America's influence.

00:16Macron will also be in a tricky position,

00:18increase ties with governments while navigating tensions over their human rights record

00:22and also dealing with the legacy of France's colonial past.

00:27Joining me on the set is our senior reporter, Clovis Casali,

00:30also our former Southeast Asia correspondent.

00:34Clovis, when we're looking at this trip, what does Emmanuel Macron want to get out of it?

00:40What's the aim of this visit?

00:41Well, first, there's going to be three stops.

00:44Vietnam, Indonesia, Singapore.

00:46As always with these trips, the aim is to strengthen cultural, political ties and strike business deals.

00:52The three nations are strategic partners in the so-called Indo-Pacific region.

00:57Delhi is telling us also that with 700 million inhabitants,

01:02the area is the most dynamic in the world in terms of business.

01:07It's also a region very much caught in between the US and China,

01:10with the two superpowers battling for ever more influence.

01:14China on the offensive, again, more than ever when it comes to economic gains,

01:19trying to make economic and territorial gains.

01:22I think the most explicit example is certainly Taiwan, of course.

01:26Then on the other hand, you've got the US, now Donald Trump in charge,

01:31focusing on the Indo-Pacific region rather than Europe and Ukraine.

01:36The US, very strong military presence there.

01:40And at the same time, waging a trade war with Southeast Asian nations,

01:44like with most of the world.

01:46So now France and Europe seeking a third way.

01:50They want to show that they support the rule of law.

01:53They respect international trade rules and treaties without bullying partners.

01:59France particularly keen on that.

02:02France also a strong player in the Indo-Pacific

02:05because it has its territory of New Caledonia.

02:09It has 1.5 million French citizens in the area.

02:13And that's important.

02:14Emmanuel Macron's unveiled, in the past, the Indo-Pacific doctrine that some here are calling

02:20the Macron doctrine.

02:23He unveiled it back in 2018.

02:26I was a Southeast Asia correspondent at the time for France 24.

02:30And I followed Emmanuel Macron to Australia, where he unveiled that strategy.

02:35And he explained a bit more what he meant during a joint press conference with the Australian

02:41Prime Minister at the time, Malcolm Turnbull.

02:44Here's a soundbite from our archives of Emmanuel Macron 2018 in Sydney.

02:49Now, what's important is to preserve a rule-based development in the region, especially in Indo-Pacific

02:57region, and is to preserve the necessary balances in the region.

03:04And it's important with this, precisely this new context, not to have any hegemony in the region.

03:11And that's why, for me, this partnership is a very important way to progress.

03:17Interesting to see that that hegemony is still going on, with the US even stepping up efforts

03:23to counter Chinese plans.

03:25A lot of work also to do for Europe, because you heard Emmanuel Macron back in 2018 saying

03:31that it was great, this partnership with Australia.

03:33Well, remember, a few years back, France felt that it had been completely betrayed by Australia

03:38when at the very last minute it decided to turn its back on a planned deal to buy French

03:45submarines.

03:45Australia choosing instead to buy submarines from the UK and from the US.

03:53And France saying at the time that it felt that it was backstabbing.

03:57So important moments and relations have improved since between France and Australia.

04:04So three stops on his itinerary.

04:07What more can you tell us about the agenda?

04:09Macron is arriving in a few hours in Hanoi, Vietnam, once part of the French colonial power.

04:17France doesn't want to revisit those dark hours of its past, or at least put it behind them.

04:22France instead says that the relationship with Vietnam needs to be based on nothing else but

04:28respect, common interests.

04:31Last week, you had Chinese President Xi Jinping, Chinese leader Xi Jinping, in Vietnam.

04:37He met with the Vietnamese leader, Emmanuel Macron also meeting this time with the Vietnamese leader

04:42to promote cultural ties, business, possibly also when it comes to nuclear energy, with France

04:49extremely strong in that area.

04:51Nuclear energy, also a key part, and business deals, with Indonesia, which has the largest

04:57Muslim population in the world.

05:00Indonesia possibly looking to buy French weapons also, while it has in the past turned to Russia

05:06to buy weapons.

05:08So that's a key point also for France and Europe.

05:12France, the Elyse tells us, Emmanuel Macron will also probably talk about the situation in

05:17the Middle East, Indonesia, particularly concerned, like a lot of people in the world, with what's

05:24going on in Gaza, the humanitarian tragedy.

05:27Emmanuel Macron, a few days ago, using strong words like never before, saying that the government,

05:35Benjamin Netanyahu's government and the war undertaken waged in Gaza, while it was currently

05:40unacceptable, with, of course, the humanitarian tragedy and many civilians killed in operations.

05:48While France, of course, says Israel has the right to defend itself against Hamas, it must

05:53protect, by all means, civilian lives in Gaza, and it's currently not the case.

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