The French nuclear submarine Emeraude visited the U.S. island of Guam on Dec. 11, 2020.
French Defense Minister Florence Parly announced Monday that two French Navy warships recently sailed through the South China Sea, which the Chinese Communist Party claims to be sovereign and the source of multiple international tensions.
The two warships in the South China Sea were the nuclear attack submarine Emeraude and the auxiliary ship Seine.
Minister Parry tweeted: “This extraordinary patrol has just completed its voyage in the South China Sea. It highlights the long, long-range deployment of the French Navy in cooperation with strategic partners – Australia, the United States or Japan.”
AFP noted that the South China Sea, which is highly strategic for maritime trade, has raised multiple international tensions. Chinese maritime forces are expanding across the region and claim sovereignty over almost all of the sea.
Other countries, led by the United States, claim freedom of navigation there, making the region a potential source of conflict between Beijing and Washington.
France, a U.S. ally with a significant exclusive economic zone in the Pacific due to its overseas departments, has prioritized freedom of navigation in the Indo-Pacific region in recent years.
The French defense minister said, “Why should we carry out such a mission? It is to enrich our knowledge in this area and to confirm that international law is the only valid rule, regardless of the ocean in which we sail.”
In April 2019, a Communist Chinese warship and a French frigate were involved in an accident while sailing in the Taiwan Strait and the French frigate was asked to leave. The Taiwan Strait is another sensitive area for Beijing.
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