The head of state believes that Asia-Pacific, the scene of growing rivalry between China and the United States, must rely on its regional powers, including France.
Emmanuel Macron pleaded Friday, November 18 against “hegemony» and the «showdown» and for the «stabilityin Asia-Pacific. “We don’t believe in hegemony, confrontation. We believe in stability, we believe in innovation“, he declared from Bangkok, at the summit of the economic leaders of Apec.
Spinning the metaphor, he felt that Asia-Pacific, the scene of a growing rivalry between China and the United States, should rely on its regional powers, including France, to guarantee this balance. “We are in the jungle and we have two large and increasingly nervous elephants. If they get very nervous they will start to war each other and it will be a big problem for the rest of the jungle“, he launched. “We will need the cooperation of many other animals, tigers, monkeys, etc.“, he continued, triggering laughter from the audience.
Emmanuel Macron has made this vast area stretching from the East African coasts to the West American coasts a strategic priority – hence its name “Indo-Pacific-, where France has many territories and maritime areas. It holds most of its exclusive economic zone (EEZ), the second in the world, around seven territories, from Reunion to New Caledonia and Tahiti, where 1.65 million nationals live.
SEE ALSO – World Cup: Macron believes that it is not necessary to “politicize sport”