French Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian called onto Europeans to have more visible presence in South China Sea contested waters. (Photo : Getty Images)
France is rallying its European navies to participate in the spiteful South China Sea bout by increasing patrols in the disputed waters to uphold peace and freedom of navigation in the region.
According to a report from the Foreign Policy, France's Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian called onto his European comrades to have a "regular and visible" presence to uphold peace in the South China Sea.
During the last day of the annual Shangri-La Dialogue, Le Drian said Europeans should be more active in maintaining peace if they wish to end the conflict.
On the same day, defense ministers from participating countries had also vouched on a side in the debate between China and the United States' Asian allies.
The French's Call
"If we want to contain the risk of conflict, we must defend this right and defend it ourselves," the French defense minister said during his speech at the Shangri-La Dialogue regional security conference held in Singapore hosted by the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS).
While he did not explicitly pointed a blaming finger at China, his thinly sugar-coated statement emits criticism for the Asian giant's aggressive pursuit of territories in the region.
"If the law of the sea is not respected today in the China seas, it will be threatened tomorrow in the Arctic, in the Mediterranean, or elsewhere," he said.
According to Mira Rapp-Hooper, a senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security, the U.S. has long awaited the involvement of the European Union in the matter.
"The timing of the French call may also mean that we see European Union governments come out in vocal support of the Hague decision in a few weeks," she explained.
Criticisms
The French's comment is the latest of many criticisms to the Chinese government, following the previously reported remarks from U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter, who warned Beijing of isolation if it pursues its current path.
"I hope that this development doesn't occur, because it will result in actions being taken by the both United States and . . . by others in the region which would have the effect of not only increasing tensions but isolating China," Reuters quoted Carter as saying.
China had responded by reiterating its refusal to acknowledge any international ruling on the matter of sovereignty over the waterways.
"We don't make trouble, but we have no fear of trouble," Chinese Admiral Sun Jianguo said on Sunday. "China will not bear with the arbitration award, nor will it allow any infringement on its sovereignty and security interests or stay indifferent to the irresponsible behavior of some countries in and around the South China Sea."
