France has called on European and Indo-Pacific countries to form a "coalition of free nations" in order to maintain the security of maritime routes and protect freedom of navigation.
"Last year, French President Emmanuel Macron proposed the formation of a coalition of independent countries based on a partnership of sovereignty between the European and Indo-Pacific regions," French Minister of the Armed Forces Catherine Vautrin said at the Shangri-La Dialogue security forum in Singapore, Saturday.
"There is an area where this concept must become a reality - namely in the maritime security area," he said, stressing.
Various countries can join together for a common goal in preventing "maritime chaos", ship hijacking, illegal fishing, drug trafficking, and threats to underwater infrastructure, he said.
He also expressed France's intention to contribute to ensuring security in the Indo-Pacific region.
"More than 8,000 French military personnel are permanently deployed in the (Indo-Pacific) region. They are here to protect our citizens, territory, and partners," said Vautrin.
France controls a number of overseas territories in the Indo-Pacific region, including Reunion Island and the Mayotte Islands in the Indian Ocean, then Wallis and Futuna, New Caledonia, and French Polynesia which are located in the southern Pacific Ocean.
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