France is set to deploy its nuclear-powered aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle to the Indo–Pacific region by the end of the year for a mission dubbed “Clemenceau 25,” according to a French official.
Rear Adm. Jacques Mallard, commander of France’s carrier strike group, said on Nov. 8 that the Charles de Gaulle will conduct three major naval exercises with regional allies in the Indo–Pacific during the mission.
The aircraft carrier will first join the Indian navy for the bilateral Varuna exercises in the Arabian Sea before moving to the Indian Ocean to take part in the biennial “La Perouse” exercise with regional allies, including India, Japan, the Philippines, Singapore, Australia, Canada, Malaysia, and the United States, according to USNI News.
The Charles de Gaulle will then head to Guam to carry out the Pacific Steller exercises with the Japan Maritime Self Defense, Royal Australian Navy, Royal Canadian Navy, and the U.S. Seventh Fleet.
Mallard did not provide a specific timeline for the aircraft carrier’s deployment or where it would make port calls, but the USNI News report said the aircraft carrier will likely stop in the Philippines and Japan.
Both the Philippines and Japan have repeatedly raised concerns about communist China’s growing assertiveness in the region, particularly in the disputed South China Sea, where Beijing has asserted sweeping territorial claims that overlap with its neighboring countries.
The Chinese military responded to France’s move by publishing an opinion piece on its official news website highlighting “problems” that could arise from the deployment of the French aircraft carrier and citing unnamed analysts.
Meanwhile, Taiwan’s defense ministry said last month that its military had spotted a French warship entering the Taiwan Strait on Oct. 28 and sailing north.
The Taiwanese military has monitored the vessel’s activities and deemed “everything was under control,” the ministry said in a statement without elaborating further.
The Charles de Gaulle carried out drills in the Mediterranean from Oct. 4 to Oct. 25 to boost its operational capability, after the aircraft carrier experienced a technical shutdown that lasted nearly four months, the French Navy said in a Nov. 4 statement.
The French Navy said that following the three-week drills, the aircraft carrier began “a final four-week sequence of logistical and operational preparation” at the quayside, ahead of its next deployment in a constituted carrier battle group.
