Macron wants strategic Paris-Delhi-Canberra axis amid Pacific tension

Butter Chicken

Senior member
Dec 2, 2017
1,265
1,235
SYDNEY/PARIS: French President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday called for the creation of a new strategic alliance among France, India and Australia to respond to challenges in the Asia-Pacific region and the growing assertiveness of China.
On the second day of a visit to Australia, where he hopes to cement defence ties following the 2016 signing of a $38 billion megadeal to supply submarines to the Australian navy, Macron said the like-minded democracies should forge closer ties.

"We're not naive: if we want to be seen and respected by China as an equal partner, we must organise ourselves," Macron said in a speech at an Australian naval base.

Macron visited China in January, where he warned Beijing that its new "Silk Road" initiative should not be "one-way".

He then flew to India in March, where he committed to strengthen a defence partnership that has already seen New Delhi buy French warplanes in 2016.

"This new Paris-Delhi-Canberra axis is absolutely key for the region and our joint objectives in the Indian-Pacific region," Macron said.

His visit to Australia, only the second by a French president, comes amid heightened tensions in the Pacific, where France has numerous interests.

France has island territories spanning the Indo-Pacific: Reunion and Mayotte in the Indian Ocean, and Noumea, Wallis and Futuna and French Polynesia in the Pacific.

Australia and New Zealand have each separately warned that China is seeking to exert influence in the Pacific through its international aid programme, an allegation Beijing denies.

SOURCE
 
Aussies are not trustworthy. Their economy is held by the Chinese by the balls. Every department have been highjacked by Chinese people and spies. Aussies are now asking Macron to join with India. Indo-French relations should be unique and without interference to any other issue.
 
I think it's a good idea, I know a few other countries who would like to join - US, UK, Canada, rest of NATO, Japan, South Korea...
 
Global warming is what makes this sea route worth patrolling in the first place.


think it's a good idea, I know a few other countries who would like to join - US, UK, Canada, rest of NATO, Japan, South Korea...
US and UK would make sense, Canada maybe but I'm doubtful, rest of NATO definitely wouldn't, Japan and South Korea would.

If we're talking about an Indo-Pacific axis, we need to bring in people who have a stake in it. Countries that have a presence there, either coastal or through overseas islands. That excludes most of NATO, which is after all a North Atlantic organization focused on the defense of North America and Western Europe. Territories of member countries outside of these continents are specifically not protected by NATO.

What good would it bring to have the rest of NATO onboard? Their geostrategic interests are elsewhere, their priorities are different, and they don't have the infrastructure or the means to project force in these areas.
 
Any political and economic alliance against China is welcome as long as it doesn't take military dimensions.

But Australia is easily intimidated by China.
 
You're assuming the Chinese would refrain from military action then?

NATO is doing their best to force us into a military alliance so that they can ask for our military assistance when they are in trouble with China.

India going to war with China is extremely slim, but a US-China war is more likely due to the current geopolitical conditions in the East Asian region. Even if India and China go to war, it will be a border war, so why should we get suckered into a major war with China in East Asia instead?

Also, this military alliance won't see India as an equal partner due to our current low status in global affairs. We are basically needed as cannon fodder.

We should talk about military alliances and stuff after we are developed as an economy, and/or technology has reached a point where the Himalayas is easily traversable for heavy machinery. Basically, as long as China is not an existential threat to India, we should maintain status quo. To date, China has not militarised the border with us even though we have.

We should just sit back and watch everything unfold before we make a decision, while getting richer by the year. If we have no choice but to get into a military alliance, then any decision we make should be on our terms, kinda like what the UK was forced into by the US in 1942.

The best case is we create our own regional military alliance with neighbouring countries and other countries within the IOR, without any direct involvement of the West.
 
You're assuming the Chinese would refrain from military action then?
An unusually good point made by _Anonymous_. An economic and political alliance is worthless if there is no military power backing it up.
 
An unusually good point made by _Anonymous_. An economic and political alliance is worthless if there is no military power backing it up.

An economic and political alliance is the only sort of alliance that has actually worked, apart from NATO, throughout history.
 
Please revisit history. This is possibly the most inaccurate point ever made.

Oh, so all the FTAs have not worked? NAFTA is a prime example. So is the ASEAN. Most economic blocs have worked very well. That's why such economic alliances are only increasing in scale with RCEP, TTP etc.

As for political unions, one of the better examples is the African Union. The best such example is the NAM. Even political unions like SCO have worked.

The EU is also an economic-political union. Even though the UK doesn't like it, all other countries are making it work.

Even bilateral political alliances have worked, like the one between the SU and India. There are so many other bilateral unions around the world, too many to list.

The current US-India relations are also being led by economic-political considerations.

Otoh, most military alliances are short-lived or fail drastically, particularly when the threat that created the alliance has disappeared. US-Pakistan is a prime example. So are military-economic-political alliances like the China-US-SU triangle, which failed spectacularly.
 
Oh, so all the FTAs have not worked? NAFTA is a prime example. So is the ASEAN. Most economic blocs have worked very well. That's why such economic alliances are only increasing in scale with RCEP, TTP etc.

As for political unions, one of the better examples is the African Union. The best such example is the NAM. Even political unions like SCO have worked.

The EU is also an economic-political union. Even though the UK doesn't like it, all other countries are making it work.

Even bilateral political alliances have worked, like the one between the SU and India. There are so many other bilateral unions around the world, too many to list.

The current US-India relations are also being led by economic-political considerations.

Otoh, most military alliances are short-lived or fail drastically, particularly when the threat that created the alliance has disappeared. US-Pakistan is a prime example. So are military-economic-political alliances like the China-US-SU triangle, which failed spectacularly.
Every major conflict has required a military alliance to win, and every major conflict has started because of political and economic disagreements. So your point makes no sense. Even the EU is trying to form an army.
 
  • Agree
Reactions: advaidhya
Every major conflict has required a military alliance to win, and every major conflict has started because of political and economic disagreements. So your point makes no sense. Even the EU is trying to form an army.

India is not gonna be fighting a war any time soon, so there is no need for a military alliance of any sort.

As I have pointed out, China has not militarised our border yet, so there is little chance for a conflagration between us.

You guys can continue doing your military alliance thing for now. Let's see what happens later on. For now, we are only interested in political and economic alliances that have actually worked.
 
India is not gonna be fighting a war any time soon, so there is no need for a military alliance of any sort.

As I have pointed out, China has not militarised our border yet, so there is little chance for a conflagration between us.

You guys can continue doing your military alliance thing for now. Let's see what happens later on. For now, we are only interested in political and economic alliances that have actually worked.
Well that's not exactly what you'd call preparedness.

Militarising a border requires minimal time.