JAKARTA - The French Ministry of Defense has deployed its aircraft carrier battle group to the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden to support maritime security efforts in the region.
"The situation in the Strait of Hormuz has global implications," the ministry said, quoted by ANTARA from Anadolu, Wednesday, May 6.
The ministry said France was "not a party to the conflict" and remained committed to international law and sovereignty.
The aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle and its escort ships crossed the Suez Canal on Wednesday, heading for the southern Red Sea.
The ministry said French forces had been operating in a "defensive posture" since February 28 and were contributing to a multinational initiative involving more than 40 countries aimed at restoring safe navigation in the Strait of Hormuz.
The deployment is intended to "assess the regional operational environment first," while offering "additional options for crisis response" to improve regional security.
The move is also aimed at "calming down maritime trade actors," the ministry said.
The statement said the carrier group would help "integrate the capabilities of partners into an adaptive defense framework," in line with the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.
The ministry stressed that this deployment of troops "is different from the ongoing military operation in the region" and is intended to complement existing security arrangements.
Regional tensions have escalated since the US and Israel launched an attack on Iran on February 28, which triggered retaliation from Tehran against Israel and US allies in the Gulf, along with the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
The ceasefire came into effect on April 8 through Pakistani mediation, but talks in Islamabad failed to produce a lasting agreement. The ceasefire was then extended by US President Donald Trump without a set time limit.
After failing to reach an agreement, since April 13, the US has imposed a naval blockade targeting Iranian maritime traffic in the strait.
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