From February 8 to 18 of this year in the Philippine Sea warships from the US, Japanese and French navies took part in Pacific Steller, a large-scale joint exercise.
Some details on the representation of participants in the Pacific Steller exercise.
Let us start with France, as it was officially declared to be the organizer of the exercise, while groups of ships from the US 7th Fleet and the Japanese Navy “joined” the exercise. France was represented by a significant group of vessels led by the French Navy’s flagship—nuclear-powered aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle. The group also included a destroyer, two frigates, a supply ship and two patrol aircraft. At the end of November last year, the Charles de Gaulle left Toulon for a five-month tour of seas in the Indo-Pacific region.
It should be noted that this was the first time that a French Navy flagship had appeared in Indo-Pacific waters since 1968, when the aircraft carrier Clemenceau delivered supplies for some of France’s many nuclear weapons tests to destinations near French island possessions in the region. Nevertheless, the Charles de Gaulle has previously traveled to the Indian Ocean, in particular, for the La Perouse exercise, which also involves ships from four Quad member countries (the United States, Japan, India and Australia).
The Japanese Navy sent the aircraft carrier Kaga, as well as a destroyer and a patrol aircraft to take part in the Pacific Steller exercise. In connection with the Kaga, it is here worth making some remarks which would appear to be important from the point of view of assessments of the development of the situation in the Indo-Pacific region. Commissioned in 2017, it was the second of the Kaga class of helicopter carrier ships that were already planned to be converted into light aircraft carriers. It was also planned to arm them with US F-35B fifth-generation Short take-off and vertical landing (STOVL) fighters, which were in the final stages of development at the time.
The Kaga has already undergone the necessary upgrades in this regard and late last year, a series of F-35B landings and takeoffs were conducted by US pilots on its deck near the US Navy’s main Pacific base San Diego. Two vessels converted into aircraft carriers (Japan’s first since World War II), each equipped with a squadron of F-35Bs aboard, are scheduled to join the Japanese Navy in 2027. This will be a serious strike force at sea that any opponent will have to reckon with. It is this factor that gives special significance to the Kaga’s participation in the Pacific Steller exercise.
But the main contingent in the naval formation assembled in the Philippine Sea was undoubtedly the American group. This included the aircraft carrier Carl Vinson (with more than twice the displacement and combat equipment of the Charles de Gaulle and four times that of the Kaga), plus a cruiser, two destroyers, a nuclear-powered attack submarine, and a patrol aircraft.
On the motives and objectives of the participants in Pacific Steller, especially France
The official goals and motivation for this large-scale exercise are outlined in a statement issued the day before the exercises began by the French embassy in the United States. Specifically, on the military objectives themselves, the statement made it clear that these are limited to “strengthening interoperability and mutual knowledge” between the navies of all three participants. As for the political and strategic motive behind the Pacific Steller exercise, the phrases used are “to prevent all types of crises,” “increase their [the participants’] shared capacity to deal with hybrid threats,” “guaranteeing the preservation of common areas” and “the promotion of a maritime space based on the rule of law.”
It was also noted that France is an “Indo-Pacific country.” This status is discussed in a commentary published by specialized news agency Naval News. Specifically, it says France owns “seven territories here, which are home to 1.6 million of the country’s citizens.” It should be noted that the total land area of these territories is negligible compared to the area of the European part of the country, but, as international law currently stands, they provide France with more than 90% of its exclusive economic zone. And this is indeed a potential whose significance cannot be overemphasized.
As for the recent unrest in New Caledonia, “Chinese intrigues” are quite transparently hinted at as their cause. “Therefore, we will conduct drills together with the Japanese and Americans in the Philippine Sea to practice to blocking Chinese merchant and warships from entering the Pacific Ocean through the straits in the ‘First Island Chain’.” Especially since it is now very evident that Beijing has recently become active in the Pacific Island countries.
As for the participation of the United States and Japan in the Pacific Steller exercise, it can be said quite definitely that such exercises are becoming almost routine for them, and that this is due to their perception of the fact that the PRC is becoming one of the major powers in the Indo-Pacific region and in the world as a whole. For Washington and Tokyo, Pacific Steller proved to be a notable event, but nevertheless merely one among many such events.
Some unanswered questions
However, for the French naval group, these exercises were just one of a number of activities planned in advance during a five-month campaign in the Indo-Pacific region. Both on its own and some combination or other with each of the partners identified above (although not only them). Of particular note is the claimed “visit to Okinawa,” one of Japan’s 47 prefecture, which includes the Ryukyu Archipelago, whose southern islands are closely adjacent to the troubled region of Taiwan and the Taiwan Strait. Japan is beginning to construct military facilities to be used by the Japan Self-Defense Force on these islands, and in general, the situation here has long been a source of serious tensions in relations between Japan-and China.
And what is the message being sent to the PRC by plans for a French aircraft carrier to “visit Okinawa”? Why would France even want to get involved in extremely dangerous squabbles on what is, as we have already pointed out, the far side of the world? This region is by no means being neglected in the policy of the new US administration, although President Donald Trump’s “Greenland-Canada” comments may have suggested this to some. On the contrary, all indications are that the situation in the Indo-Pacific region will remain at the top of his foreign policy agenda for the foreseeable future.
As most recently evidenced by a telephone conversation between US Secretary of Defense Minister Pete Hegseth with his Philippine counterpart (held prior to the Pacific Steller exercise), during which the latter received reaffirmation of “ironclad” support from the US in the face of challenges in the South China Sea. The fact that two US Navy ships were passing through the Taiwan Strait at the same time is also indicative of this support. Reports of this event emphasized that this was the first such incident under the new American administration.
As for French activity in the Indo-Pacific, in addition to the prospect of exposure to completely unnecessary risks, there is also the question of whether such activity is in line with the repeated declarations of President Emmanuel Macron that France does not want the Indo-Pacific space to be divided into opposing blocs. There are no definite answers to this question, nor to the other questions raised above.
Meanwhile, France’s ally in the “Entente 2,” the United Kingdom, has shown much more flexibility in terms of its response to the rapidly evolving global situation. The UK realized the danger of the victory of “Trumpism” in the United States before the other European countries did, and began to build up its relations with China, the main opponent of the US. For this purpose, Beijing was visited first (in October 2024) by UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy and then (in January 2025) by Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves.
In turn, the PRC (as well as Japan) is becoming more active in Europe. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi’s visit to the UK, Ireland and also to the Munich Security Conference (followed by a trip to Johannesburg) is the latest example of this activity. However, this highly noteworthy event deserves to be commented on in a separate article.
Finally, we should not be in a hurry to exclude the leading European nations from the number of significant participants in the current stage of the Great World Game. After all, the positions of, let us say, “national-and pro-European-patriotic forces” are strengthening, and we wish them success in gaining key positions of power to promote peace and prosperity throughout the continent.
The fact that it would be premature to underestimate the importance of the leading countries in today’s Europe is evidenced, at the very least, by the fact that France has organized the Pacific Steller exercise. And very far from its own territory.
Vladimir Terekhov, expert on issues of the Asia-Pacific region
