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France is advocating a "third way" amid growing rivalry between the United States and China and wants to help its South Asian partners, including Bangladesh, build their own strategic autonomy, France's Ambassador to Bangladesh Jean-Marc Sere-Charlet said on Monday.
Speaking to reporters here, Sere-Charlet said France and Europe are seeking to position themselves as a balancing power in the Indo-Pacific, drawing on France's status as an Indian Ocean nation. "Democratic and strategic interests in the Indo-Pacific region, particularly in its relations with Bangladesh, are centred around promoting a multilateral third way. Faced with a growing rivalry between the United States and China, France is positioning itself, like Europe, with Europe, as a balancing power, leveraging its status as an Indian Ocean nation. Promoting a third way in the face of big powers means what? It means, first, strategic autonomy," he said. The French envoy said Paris wants its partners in South Asia to have greater strategic autonomy rather than being compelled to align with either of the two major powers. "France aims to help its partners in South Asia, such as Bangladesh, but others, achieve their own strategic autonomy, so that they are not forced to choose between two big states or two big groups," Sere-Charlet said. He also stressed France's opposition to imperialism and linked its approach to maritime security and freedom of navigation in the Indian Ocean. "We reject imperialism, and it's very important to reassert that we are for a middle game. Maritime security and stability in the Indian Ocean, of course, start with the freedom of navigation," he said. Sere-Charlet said the Northern Indian Ocean is a vital route for global trade and that France is committed to upholding international maritime law while addressing risks linked to territorial claims and expansionism. He also highlighted cooperation on maritime surveillance and sovereignty, as well as efforts to tackle non-traditional security threats affecting the region. "As the Northern Indian Ocean is a vital maritime route for global trade, France is committed to upholding international maritime law in the region, addressing the risk of territorial claims and expansionism. It also implies surveillance and sovereignty, as France, with the largest maritime domain in the region, is strengthening its partnership to combat non-traditional threats, including illegal fishing, piracy, and trafficking that Bangladesh is also facing," he said. France's approach in the Indo-Pacific also reflects its ties with Bangladesh and its wider presence in the region. The approach is presented as part of France's broader diplomatic and strategic interests in the Indo-Pacific, particularly in its relationship with Bangladesh, amid increasing competition between Washington and Beijing. (ANI)
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