France, also an Indo-Pacific nation, has its own stake in the South China Sea.
China's aggressive territorial push in the South China Sea has resulted in turning this busy international trade route into one of the most volatile spots in the world.
The U.S.-led international efforts to defend the freedom of navigation guaranteed by the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), aiming at preventing the entire South China Sea from becoming an exclusive Chinese lake, has just received a powerful boost in the form of the July 12 ruling of The Hague-based UN Permanent Court of Arbitration. Much to China's anger, most of its sovereignty claims over the South China Sea are rejected in this ruling.
To the surprise of many, a seemingly unrelated European power, France, has announced its intention of coordinating the navies of fellow European Union nations to conduct Freedom of Navigation Operations or FONOPs in South China Sea. On June 5, at the Shangri-la Dialogue in Singapore, French Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian mentioned this initiative for joint EU patrols of "the maritime areas of Asia" and for a "regular and visible presence there."
