The meaning of Macron's tour of Southeast Asia

The French president in Vietnam, Indonesia and Singapore to strengthen trade and diplomatic ties with the ASEAN region

By Emanuele Ballestracci

For several years now, there has been a gradual increase in awareness of the strategic importance of the Indo-Pacific in the European Union and among its member states. This growing interest has partly followed the example of the United States, particularly since the “pivot to Asia” promoted by the Obama administration. In Europe, debates on the Indo-Pacific region have begun to translate into more concrete strategy documents, culminating in the adoption of national strategies by some member countries. The most prominent is certainly that of the European Union, which is joined by those of individual member states, including France, the Netherlands, Germany, the Czech Republic and even Lithuania. In Italy, too, a national strategy for the Indo-Pacific is currently being discussed in Parliament, despite the fact that the country's interest and projection capacity in the region is significantly lower than in other European counterparts. Prominent among them is France, as evidenced by President Emmanuel Macron's tour of Southeast Asia this week.

The tenant of the Elysee Palace himself was among the main promoters of the French Indo-Pacific Strategy, later formalized in 2018, aimed at identifying Paris' core interests in the region and equipping itself with concrete tools, both in the short and long term, to pursue them. This testifies to the growing Western awareness of the progressive shift of the global economic and geopolitical center of gravity toward Asia. France, by the way, is the only European country that still holds territories in the Indo-Pacific region, including New Caledonia, French Polynesia, La Réunion and Mayotte, which together are home to about 1.6 million French citizens. The French president's trip to Vietnam, Indonesia and Singapore thus aims to reaffirm the centrality assigned to the region, strengthen diplomatic ties and promote France's strategic presence, while contributing to the implementation of the French Strategy. This is not an isolated initiative: the Macron presidency has been punctuated by similar trips, including those to Australia, India and La Réunion in 2018, Japan in 2019, as well as participation in the APEC summit in 2022.

The French Indo-Pacific Strategy, adopted in 2018, aims to protect French territories and sovereign interests in the region by promoting an international order based on law and multilateralism. It is based on pillars such as security, freedom of navigation, economic and environmental cooperation, and strengthening regional partnerships. Within this framework, France aspires to position itself as a balancing power, active in preventing crises and promoting regional stability. These are the concepts that Macron clearly expressed during his stop in Vietnam. France's willingness to present itself, together with the European Union, as a reliable partner is particularly relevant in the current context marked by growing international instability, trade uncertainty dictated by U.S. tariffs and strategic competition between the United States and China. Participation in the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, Asia's premier security and defense summit, gives Macron an additional opportunity to present Paris and Brussels as credible and stable players in an increasingly uncertain global order.

In addition, the presidential visits present an opportunity to accelerate the process of diversifying global value chains, particularly through collaborations in key sectors such as energy, transportation, defense, and space. Above all, the environment is a central theme, with France hosting the UNOC conference on oceans in Nice in a few weeks. In addition, President Macron has promoted the Just Energy Transition Partnerships (JETP), under which countries such as Indonesia and Vietnam have committed to decarbonization in exchange for investment and financial support, including from France.

The Macronian tour is thus part of a broader and now decade-long process of growing French engagement in the Indo-Pacific region, in which Paris has distinguished itself as the most determined European player in defending and promoting its strategic interests, while also serving as a spokesperson for the European Union.