France sends warships to South China Sea to participate in combined military exercise

France has sent two Navy ships to Pacific to take part in joint exercises with Qu countries. According to website Naval News, a Mistral-class LHD 'Tonnerre' and a La Fayette-class frigate 'Surcouf' left Toulon naval base in France on Thursday morning. ships are expected to sail through South China Sea twice during ir voyage. As per French Navy, exercise is not just a training mission but an operational deployment part of country's strategic interest in Indo-Pacific region. 

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Step up presence in Indo-Pacific

French Navy ships will participate in naval exercises with its partner countries, including India, Japan, Australia, and United States. This comes amid France's move to increase its presence in Indo-Pacific. Earlier this month, France deployed a nuclear-capable submarine in region to back United States President Joe Biden's call of multilateral response to China's assertiveness. 

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"This extraordinary patrol has just completed a passage in South China Sea. A striking proof of capacity of our French Navy to deploy far and for a long time in connection with our Australian, American and Japanese strategic partners," French Defence Minister Florence Parly said on Twitter. 

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latest mission launched by France will see two ships sail through Mediterranean Sea, entering Red Sea followed by Gulf of en, Arabian Sea, Indian ocean, South China Sea before reaching Japan. two ships will make stops at Port Safaga in Egypt, Wakri in Djibouti, Cochin in India, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam, twice in Japan before returning back to France in July. 

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(Image Credit: AP)