Rear Admiral Rey French Joint Commander for Asia-Pacific, ALPACI, Outlines Paris’ Indo-Pacific Defense Plans

“In a strategic context focused on the growing competition between the U.S. and China, France could be a credible alternative for many countries in Southeast Asia,” says Rear Admiral Jean-Mathieu Rey (ALPACI). In the recent years, France has deftly positioned itself as a major security and defense player in the Indo-Pacific. Largely by virtue of its considerable strategic real estate in the mega-region, in the Pacific as well as the Indian Ocean, Paris is increasingly becoming the partner of choice for many other regional powers who have sought to diversify their partnerships in that strategic theater in face of Chinese…