At the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, the French defense minister said there were ‘manipulations’ from other countries during the violence that rocked the French Pacific Territory since in May. His claim did not convince other Pacific countries.
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France’s current crisis in New Caledonia was far from the main preoccupation at the Shangri-La Dialogue, the influential forum held annually in Singapore, which brought together the main military and security players of the Indo-Pacific region from May 31 to June 2. Tensions surrounding the future of Taiwan remained the main focus of attention for most countries in the region, although Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was on hand to raise awareness of the situation in his country. The violence that has shaken the French archipelago in the Pacific Ocean since mid-May is affecting France’s Indo-Pacific strategy and being closely followed by many South Pacific players, prompting Armed Forces Minister Sébastien Lecornu to react on Saturday, June 1.
Invited to the Shangri-La Dialogue with a whole delegation of French military personnel, including the second-in-command of the Armed Forces General Staff, Pierre Vandier, Lecornu was forced to address the situation in New Caledonia’s capital Nouméa on Saturday, during a session appropriately entitled “Enhancing crisis management amid rising competition.”
Although he refrained from uttering the word “New Caledonia” during his own speech, Lecornu was prompted to speak about it by a question from the audience, mainly made up of officials and specialist researchers.
