France reiterated its commitment to defending freedom of navigation and overflight in the Indo-Pacific region, with supersonic fighter jets and advanced military equipment ensuring a rapid response to humanitarian or security crises in the area. On Sunday, two French supersonic fighter jets made their debut appearance in the Philippines.
According to reports from the Associated Press, French Ambassador to the Philippines Marie Fontanel stated that France is working towards swiftly reaching a defense agreement with the Philippines to deploy more forces for joint military exercises in the country. France has been expanding its defense missions in the Indo-Pacific region, including defense cooperation with the Philippines and other Southeast Asian countries.
Earlier, the government of Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. allowed the United States to further station troops in specific “Agreed Locations” based on a 2014 defense agreement with the US, establishing security alliances with Asian and Western countries to counter China’s increasingly provocative actions in the South China Sea.
Last weekend, the French Air Force arrived at the Clark Air Base in northern Manila to conduct an annual mission called “Pegase.” In a demonstration of military capability and deepening bilateral defense ties, France dispatched two French-made “Rafale” fighter jets along with Air Force cargo and transport aircraft for the operation.
On Sunday, the French Air Force had planned to let a small group of journalists, including from the Associated Press, board an Airbus A400M cargo plane to fly over the waters of the South China Sea facing the Philippines, showcasing its crucial air-to-air refueling capability. However, due to encountering turbulence, the exercise was temporarily canceled for safety reasons.
Philippine Air Force personnel also got familiar with the “Rafale” fighter jets during the mission.
The head of the Air Force mission, French Air Force Brigadier General Guillaume Thomas, said at a press conference that the fighter jets “changed the rules of the (war) game.” Thomas stated, “They (fighter jets) fly farther, faster, allowing us to respond rapidly in humanitarian or security crises… deploying forces from France to the Pacific region in a very short timeframe.”
Ambassador Fontanel of France in the Philippines remarked that the mission of the French Air Force is “not targeting any specific country or situation” and has no intention to escalate regional tensions.
France and the Philippines have initiated preliminary negotiations on a “status-of-forces” agreement that will provide a legal framework for both countries’ forces to conduct military exercises on each other’s territories. It is expected that the two countries will reach an initial agreement by September this year as a basis for future discussions.
Apart from France, the Philippines has also held talks with Canada and New Zealand on similar agreements. Earlier this month, the Philippines signed a similar agreement with Japan.