This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

France and Australia can be the heart of a new Indo-Pacific axis, promoting peace, stability and a rules-based order, Emmanuel Macron said in Sydney on Wednesday.

But the French president was at pains to stress that France’s continued emphasis on its Pacific presence was not one antagonistic to China, saying he welcomed Beijing’s economic and geopolitical rise.

Macron – the leader of one of the last European powers with territory in the Pacific – said his country was and wanted to remain a “Pacific power”.

He will travel from Australia to New Caledonia to campaign for the territory to remain a French collectivity when it goes to an independence referendum later this year.

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Macron said he wanted to create a “strong Indo-Pacific axis to build on our economic interests as well as our security interests”.

“I would very much like France, given it is the last European member of the EU being present in the Pacific after the Brexit … to be at the heart of this project,” he said at a fraternal press conference with Malcolm Turnbull. “This region is crucial for the stability of the world.”

The Australian prime minister described France as a “Pacific Ocean power”, one well-placed to work with Australia in pursuit of shared goals.

“We share the vision of a free, open and prosperous Indo-Pacific and will work closely to realise it, whether it is closer cooperation on maritime activities, support for our friends in the Pacific through humanitarian and disaster relief, or support for infrastructure in the region,” Turnbull said.

France and Australia signed several agreements on Wednesday, pledging to work together on combating cyberterrorism, on defence cooperation, on quantum computing, and on climate change adaptation and resilience. Already, the French company DCNS has been awarded the $50bn contract to build 12 state-of-the-art non-nuclear submarines for Australia.

The growing influence of China across the Asia-Pacific – in particular its military manifestations of bases built on atolls in the South China Sea – is a growing concern for western powers.

People’s Liberation Army Navy ships challenged three Australian warships sailing through the sea last month, in a significant escalation of Chinese assertiveness in the region.

There have also been credible reports – though denied by both sides – of Chinese intentions to build a naval port in Vanuatu.

But both Macron and Turnbull said their cooperation in the Pacific was not one made in reaction or opposition to China’s growing influence.

“There is nothing against vis-a-vis China, and in reaction to the Chinese rise,” Macron said, speaking largely in English. “I think the Chinese rise is very good news for everybody because it’s good for China itself.”

But both leaders stressed the need for all countries in the region to adhere to the “rules-based order” which had underpinned the dramatic economic growth countries such as China had enjoyed.

“That economic rise, that growth, has been enabled and made possible by a rules-based order in our region,” Turnbull said. “The peace and relevant harmony in our region has been enabled by the adherence to the rule of law.”

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Riffing on a Chinese proverb often quoted by the former Singaporean prime minister Lee Kuan Yew, Turnbull said the Indo-Pacific order must not be reduced to one where “the big fish eat the small fish and the small fish eat the shrimp”.

The centrality of New Caledonia to Macron’s antipodean visit was further emphasised. “I am a big fan of shrimp,” Macron said. “Especially New Caledonian shrimp.”

Earlier, he challenged Australia to do more to tackle climate change.

During a speech at the Sydney Opera House Tuesday night, he called on Turnbull to show the “power of conviction” and display courage in confronting climate change, despite the ideological barriers he faces in his party room.

“I am fully aware of the political and economic debate surrounding this issue in your country, and I respect this,” Macron said. “But I think that actual leaders are those that can respect those existing interests, but at the same time decide to participate to something broader, to something more strategic.”