During the thirty sixth spherical of the Indo-French Strategic Dialogue on January 5, Indian National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval met together with his French counterpart, Emmanuel Bonne. The discussions geared toward presenting a forward-looking strategic roadmap for the bilateral partnership within the fields of protection and safety to deal with modern geopolitical developments.

The time-tested India-France strategic partnership continues to realize momentum given each side’ adherence to peace, stability, and strategic autonomy. In truth, France has not solely constantly backed India’s place on varied worldwide points, but it surely has additionally established itself as India’s second-largest protection provider in 2017-22. Similarly, India has frequently come out to defend and support France on points starting from its counter-terror insurance policies to its worldwide geopolitical position.

The India-France strategic partnership presents itself as a realistic framework of convergence between the key powers of the East and West. Recognizing the complexity of the worldwide geopolitical panorama, each states have managed to successfully deepen and broaden their cooperation to deal with modern developments in worldwide affairs – amongst such developments are the unfolding strategic complexities going down within the Indo-Pacific Region. While being a European energy, France maintains intensive territories spanning from the Western Indian Ocean (WIO) to the South Pacific, a inhabitants of over 1.6 million French individuals, and a formidable navy presence within the Indo-Pacific, making its strategic stakes within the area notably excessive. Unlike different European powers that search to deepen their footprints within the Indo-Pacific area largely for financial positive factors, France’s pursuits are notably political-security in nature, on condition that solely 8 p.c of French industrial items cross by way of the South China Sea.

China’s expansive activities within the Indian and Pacific Oceans proceed to impress France’s strategic pursuits. In the WIO, Indian analyst and writer of “The Superpowers’ Playground: Djibouti and Geopolitics of the Indo-Pacific in the 21st Century,” Sankalp Gurjar factors to four key dimensions in China’s engagements: dual-use infrastructure-building, political-diplomatic relations, connectivity initiatives, and demanding military-motivated actions. Along with the institution of its offshore base in Djibouti in 2017, China has additionally considerably ramped up its naval presence within the strategic sub-region. Moreover, China’s assertive maneuvering and exclusionary insurance policies within the Pacific come at France’s expense within the context of freedom of navigation and sustaining the rules-based order. Accordingly, France’s notion of China’s assertiveness continues to spiral. In truth, in line with a 2020 Pew Research poll, France’s unfavorable views in direction of China elevated to 70 p.c in 2020 from 42 p.c practically 20 years prior. Furthermore, French President Emmanuel Macron himself has explicitly emphasized that if left unchecked, China’s hegemonic ambitions will come on the expense of freedom, improvement, and alternatives.

To offset these challenges, France grew to become one of many first European international locations to outline a method for the Indo-Pacific, which seeks to proactively bolster Paris’ diplomatic networks and strategic partnerships within the area. However, regardless of the coverage recalibration, France’s Indo-Pacific technique continues to lack the wanted visibility.

Enjoying this article? Click here to subscribe for full access. Just $5 a month.

It is on this context that India’s strengthening partnership with France can play an important position.

Being an Indo-Pacific energy and a standard safety supplier within the Indian Ocean Region, India’s rising diplomatic and materials capabilities proceed to boost its geopolitical place within the area. Hence, deepening strategic relations with India could open new diplomatic channels for France to solidify its place within the Indo-Pacific, examples of that are the potential trilateral frameworks India and France have with international locations like the UAE, Australia, Indonesia, and Japan.

Another vital convergence between New Delhi and Paris is their shared imaginative and prescient for an inclusive multipolar order, whereas additionally prioritizing the significance of strategic autonomy. Macron has emphasized how France’s Indo-Pacific technique won’t be decided by the binary energy competitors between the United States and China, slightly Paris will search to virtually have interaction primarily based on shared pursuits and considerations whereas additionally prioritizing the diversification of companions. Similarly, India’s rising management position within the area banks significantly on an inclusive and pluralistic approach and an avoidance of bloc politics.

Hence, India’s try to play a bigger position as a safety and improvement companion all through the growing world is more and more welcomed given its recognition of the intricate steadiness between variety, improvement, and safety. At the bilateral stage, each international locations have additionally illustrated their maturity by accommodating and respecting one another’s sensitivities and proactively discovering a method ahead to strengthen and deepen their partnership additional.

Therefore, an enhanced India-France partnership will add vital worth to a area that’s marred by a binary polarization of energy introduced on by the intensifying U.S.-China competitors, which comes on the expense of regional international locations that search to protect their pursuits, safety, and progress. With each states having vital materials capability and shared pursuits and considerations within the area, the necessity to constantly evolve and operationalize the potentials of their strategic relationship might be essential to pragmatically tackle the continuing shifts going down within the Indo-Pacific’s safety and geopolitical structure.