PARIS, Feb 9, 2021 (BSS/AFP) – A French nuclear attack submarine was among
two navy ships that recently conducted a patrol through the South China Sea,
its defence minister announced, in a move likely to anger Beijing, which
claims most of the strategic waters as its territory.
The SNA Emeraude was accompanied by support ship BSAM Seine for the
passage, Defence Minister Florence Parly said on Twitter late Monday.
“This extraordinary patrol has just completed a passage in the South China
Sea. A striking proof of the capacity of our French Navy to deploy far away
and for a long time together with our Australian, American and Japanese
strategic partners,” she tweeted along with a picture of the two vessels at
sea.
China lays claim to nearly all of the South China Sea while Taiwan, the
Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia and Vietnam all also claim parts of the region,
believed to hold valuable oil and gas deposits.
US warships occasionally carry out “freedom of navigation” missions through
or close to waters claimed by Beijing to stress Washington’s rejection of
those claims.
The USS John S. McCain last week sailed near islands in the South China Sea
claimed by Beijing and conducted a transit through the Taiwan Strait,
prompting a warning from China.
NATO member France has exclusive economic zones in the Pacific around its
overseas territories and has stressed the importance of defending freedom of
navigation in the region.
“Why such a mission? To enrich our knowledge of this area and affirm that
international law is the only rule that is valid, whatever the sea where we
sail,” Parly tweeted.
The French patrol comes after the inauguration of US President Joe Biden,
who has underscored support for Washington’s Asian allies after four chaotic
years of the Donald Trump administration.
In April 2019, there was a naval incident in the Taiwan Strait when Chinese
ships told the French frigate Vendemiaire to leave the waterway that
separates the Chinese mainland and Taiwan, another sensitive area claimed by
Beijing.