2023-12-03 20:00:12
After the ministerial visits to New Caledonia, at the end of November, by Gérald Darmanin and Bruno Le Maire, devoted to the institutional future of the archipelago and the future of its nickel sector, it is the Minister of the Armed Forces, Sébastien Lecornu, who is going to the Caillou on December 4 to chair the summit of South Pacific Defense Ministers (SPDMM).
The SPDMM, which celebrates its tenth anniversary this year, is little known. However, it is a unique forum for dialogue and coordination, bringing together Australia, Chile, Fiji, France, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea and Tonga, as well as three observers: the United States, Japan and the United Kingdom. Defense authorities are strengthening their coordination in humanitarian and post-natural disaster (HADR) operations, as extreme weather phenomena intensify in the region under the effect of climate change.
This framework makes it possible in particular to rationalize the schedule of major HADR training exercises in the South Pacific, which include the multinational maneuvers “Southern Cross” and “Marara”, conducted respectively by the armed forces in New Caledonia and the armed forces in French Polynesia.
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France is indeed making an original and significant contribution to the SPDMM on the climate-defense issue and through the active participation of its prepositioned forces in regional cooperation. Paris has coordinated since 1992 within the Franz Agreement with its Australian and New Zealand partners to provide HADR support to countries in the region. With the United States, this grouping forms the “Pacific Quad”, which assists Oceanic states in monitoring their exclusive economic zones and fighting against overfishing.
Macron’s call
France is, moreover, the only European country able to contribute significantly to the security of the South Pacific, thanks to its 2,800 soldiers permanently stationed in the region. France’s reception of the SPDMM is part of the approach defined by the President of the Republic, Emmanuel Macron, during his tour of the Pacific in July. During this visit, he tightened the French Indo-Pacific strategy in Oceania around three axes: the promotion of multilateralism, cooperation in security and defense, and climate change. Areas where France can claim legitimacy because of its experience and expertise.
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