France and the Philippines have conducted joint maneuvers in the South China Sea in a show of possible interoperability between the forces of the two distant countries.

According to the French Embassy in Manila, the 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 last March 20.

The embassy said the exercise was "an excellent way to develop inter-allied interoperability as part of France’s multilateral approach in this region." They are conducted at the heels of China's aggression in the South China Sea—a resource-rich and busy waterway that it claims its own.

"France illustrates on this occasion its status as a coastal and sovereign nation of the Pacific, concerned with the security issues of the region," it added.

The Prairial is a Floréal-class frigate based in Papeete and belongs to the Armed Forces in French Polynesia, which is being commanded by Rear Admiral Geoffroy d’Andigné.

Dedicated to a wide range of missions such as sovereignty missions in the French exclusive economic zones or missions of aid to populations or cooperation, it is 94 meters long, has a crew of about 100 and carries a Dauphin helicopter.

Prairial regularly carries out missions in Asia.

In November 2022, Manila and Paris agreed to "diversify" their cooperation in the fields of defense and security, by sustaining their high-level interactions, education, training cooperation and various maritime-related exchanges.

French Ambassador to the Philippines Michele Boccoz also said the relations between the two countries in terms of military, agriculture and energy must be strengthened amid "crucial" times in the Indo-Pacific region.