Hanoi: – French destroyer Prairial recently visited Vietnam. The French embassy in Vietnam announced that the French destroyer visited Vietnam in support of freedom of marine transport in the South China Sea. This is one more jolt to China, claiming that it has rights over the entire South China Sea region. In the past, France had sent its destroyer to the region to deliver a message that Chinese bullying will not be tolerated.
In January, destroyer Prairial, which left French Polynesia, a country in the Indo-Pacific region, for patrolling reached the Cam Ranh port in Vietnam last week. The local newspapers reported that the destroyer came to the port for some repairs to a helicopter. But the French Ambassador to Vietnam delivered a message to China. French Ambassador Nicolas Warner said that the French destroyer’s visit was to deliver the message that France is standing firm behind its allies for the freedom of marine and air transport in this region. The French embassy clarified that this could be viewed from the military cooperation framework between the two countries.
Before this, in February, a French nuclear submarine and a destroyer had patrolled this marine region. Moreover, France has announced that it will be sending its warship to the South China Sea by the end of this year. Like France, even the United States and Germany have announced to send their warships, to this marine region, for patrolling around the same time. A few days ago, Denmark also declared support for the freedom of transport in this marine region and opposed the Chinese claims.
China is becoming increasingly restless because of this rise in the frequency of patrolling by the European countries. Only last week, China threatened Germany over this issue. China had threatened that Germany who plans to send its warship to the South China Sea for patrolling, should respect the region’s sovereignty. In this scenario, by sending its warship to the South China Sea, France has clearly indicated that it pays no heed to the Chinese threats.
Meanwhile, China is claiming rights over 90% of the South China Sea. Without giving any importance to the rights of the south-east Asian countries like Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Taiwan and Brunei, China has militarised this region. Last month, the Chinese government authorised the Chinese coast guard to open fire on foreign ships entering the South China Sea without proper authorisation. China’s orders to its coast guard have become a hot topic for criticism on the international level. Serious cognisance of the Chinese activities was also taken during the recently held QUAD meeting between India, the United States, Japan and Australia.
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