PARIS: French President Emmanuel Macron will travel to Southeast Asia to pitch France and Europe as reliable partners with no strings attached as the US and China use more aggressive ways to gain influence in the region, officials said.
Macron is set to arrive in Hanoi on Sunday, the first trip to Vietnam by a French president in nearly a decade, move to Indonesia and finish up in Singapore, where he will speak at the annual Shangri-La Dialogue, Asias top defence conference.
Macron will present France and Europe as defenders of international cooperation and rules-based trade, at a time when other world powers such as the US under President Donald Trump and China use more coercive or predatory methods.
As far as were concerned, we defend the idea of rules for international trade, we dont advocate for the law of the jungle, where its about survival of the fittest, a French presidential adviser said on Wednesday.
Export-reliant Vietnam was caught off guard by the threat of high tariffs from the US while France is keen to diversify its supply sources and markets to rely less on China.
Dozens of deals were being prepared and could be signed during the three state visits, the Elysee told Reuters earlier.
Macron is following leaders of China, Japan and other European countries in visiting the region in recent weeks, in a sign of Southeast Asias strategic importance amid uncertainties on global supply chains and trade.
The French leader will also use a speech to Indonesian students and the Singapore conference to dispel misunderstandings about the European position on conflicts beyond the region, denying any double standards on Gaza and framing Ukraine as not solely a European issue.
Macrons criticism of Israel has become more strident over recent months, calling Benjamin Netanyahus action in Gaza shameful, which French officials hope will resonate in Indonesia, the worlds largest Muslim-majority country.
Asked whether Indonesia, which has bought French-made Rafale warplanes, may need reassuring after at least one similar jet from the Indian army was downed by Pakistan, the French presidential adviser said the trip was not about specific news items.
Unlike with the United States or other countries, French partners know theres no strings attached with (our material), he said.
