Japan’s “Yomiuri Shimbun” on March 14 quoted Indian government officials as saying that the United States, Japan, India, Australia and France have entered into final arrangements to hold the first five-nation joint maritime military exercise in early April to jointly restrain China’s power in the Indo-Pacific region.
The report said that the military exercise is expected to be held in the Bay of Bengal off the Indian East at the request of India. Japan, the United States, Australia and India have already held the “Malabar” military exercise (Malabar) in the Indian Ocean in November 2020. It is reported that the five countries are studying to send military or self-defense force destroyers and submarines to participate.
According to Indian media reports, the upcoming military exercise in which the U.S., Japan, India, Australia and France will participate is the “La Pérouse” (La Pérouse) exercise launched by the French in 2019. In May 2019, ships from the Royal Australian Navy, the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force and the U.S. Navy will be deployed in the Bay of Bengal in formation with the French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle.
France has overseas departments and overseas territories in the Indo-Pacific region and was the first EU country to incorporate the Indo-Pacific concept into its security and safety policy, which was announced in 2018. France has nearly 2 million citizens in the Indo-Pacific region. France has the second largest exclusive economic zone in the world, with a total area of 11 million square kilometers, of which 9 million square kilometers are located in the Indo-Pacific region.
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