A French admiral for Asia-Pacific will be coming to Manila next week for meetings with various military and diplomatic officials as the Philippines is expanding its Western alliance amid challenges over the South China Sea.
Rear Admiral Geoffroy d’Andigné will be in Manila from June 26 to 30, 2023 for a meeting with officials from the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), the Department of National Defense (DND), the National Security Council, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), the Philippine Army, and the Philippine Navy.
The French Embassy in Manila issued the advisory on Thursday, June 22.
D'Andigné's visit will coincide with the port call to Manila of French destroyer Lorraine to Manila as France sees Philippines as "a strategic partner in the Indo-Pacific," according to French Ambassador to the Philippines Michele Boccoz.
Amid threats in the South China Sea, including the Chinese aggression and incursion into the West Philippine Sea, the Philippines has been seeking military assurance from its Western partners.
In March, France and the Philippines conducted joint maneuvers in the South China Sea to prove interoperability between forces of the two distant countries.
French Navy frigate FS Prairial (F731) and the Philippine Coast Guard patrol vessel BRP Capones (MRRV-4404) participated in a passing exercise (PASSEX) in the highly-contested water, which the embassy said the exercise was "an excellent way to develop inter-allied interoperability as part of France’s multilateral approach in this region."
Meanwhile, in May, France backed the Philippines' rights over the West Philippine Sea and opposed any action in the bigger South China Sea that will escalate tension in the volatile Indo-Pacific region.
The French Embassy in Manila warned that it is following the recent events in the highly-contested waterway "with the utmost attention" after China conducted another dangerous maneuver against the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG).
Recalling its commitment to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), France said respect for international law, particularly the freedom of navigation, is one of its "priorities for action."
"We are opposed to any action that increases tensions and jeopardizes regional stability and the international order based on the rule of law," it said.