China, France agree to deepen military cooperation as South China Sea tensions rise
- Agreement on inter-theatre cooperation and dialogue mechanism with PLA comes as France joins US-Philippine drills in contested South China Sea
- Sino-French naval and air force cooperation will jointly safeguard regional security and stability, China’s defence ministry says
Collaboration between the two militaries’ naval and air forces will help to further deepen mutual trust and cooperation, and jointly safeguard regional security and stability, China’s defence ministry said in a statement on Friday.
General Wang Xiubin, commander of the People’s Liberation Army’s Southern Theatre Command, and French Rear Admiral Geoffroy d’Andigne, commander of the Pacific Ocean and French Polynesian maritime zones, signed the agreement on Thursday, the ministry statement said. The Southern Theatre Command is the PLA arm that oversees the South China Sea.
The signing came as d’Andigne visited the Southern Theatre Command, where he also exchanged views with Wang on issues including “international and regional security situation”, the statement said.
According to the Southern Theatre Command, the French delegation visited its naval and air forces during their visit from Wednesday to Friday.
The signing of the cooperation agreement follows a consensus reached between President Xi Jinping and his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron during his visit to China last year, when they agreed to deepen military communication and strengthen mutual understanding on security issues.
The move towards forging closer Sino-French military ties comes amid increasing confrontations between China and the Philippines over maritime rights in the South China Sea.
