Macron to push French 'alternative' amid US-China tussle in the Pacific

French President Emmanuel Macron is due to travel to the southwest Pacific next week.During the visit,he will offer a "French alternative" in a region that's witnessing increasing geopolitical competition between the United States and China. Macron's office announced on Monday (July 17) that his trip will start with a visit to New Caledonia, a French overseas territory which has rejected independence from France in three referendums but continues to witness ethnic divisions.

After a visit to New Caledonia, Macron will visit Vanuatu and Papua New Guinea, thus being the first French president to visit the non-French islands in the region.

AFP quoted an official who said that Macron will use those two stops to outline France's Indo-Pacific strategy which is aimed at "recommitting" France to the region.

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After a bitter row last year that started after Australia cancelled a submarine deal with France in favour of the US and UK, Macron relaunched France's Indo-Pacific approach. He has sought to project France as a balancing power. US and China are vying for influence with Pacific Island nations.

"We don't believe in hegemony, we don't believe in confrontation, we believe in stability," Macron said on the margins of an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in November.

"What we are offering is an alternative" amid the China-US standoff, the Elysee official said, as quoted by AFP.

This would translate into an increase in France's engagement, especially in terms of development aid and help with natural disasters.

The referendums

The French president's visit to New Caledonia comes five years after his last trip there and19 months after the New Caledonians rejected independence from France in a third successive referendum.

Macron at the time hailed the vote's outcome, saying "France is more beautiful" with the Pacific islands included.

However, Macron also opened the door to "a period of transition". He said that the island group and Paris had to build "a common project", "free from the binary choice of Yes or No".

At the time, pro-independence campaigners had boycotted the vote. They had demanded postponement of the referendum because "a fair campaign" was impossible with a high number of Covid infection numbers.

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The outcome of the vote stoked ethnic tension between the indigenous, poorer Kanak community and the wealthier white community. The Kanak community favours independence from France.

"At this point, it is important for the President to invite the whole range of political representation in New Caledonia to talk with him about the future status of New Caledonia, and ongoing negotiations," the Elysee official said.

Macron will also travel to New Caledonia's east coast to draw attention to coastal erosion there.

(With inputs from agencies)

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