French Navy's Offshore Patrol Vessel Auguste Techer completes first sea trials.

According to information published by the French MoD on September 27, 2024, the Auguste Techer, the third offshore patrol vessel in a series of six designed for the French Navy, has embarked on its maiden sea voyage. Following the completion of these trials, the Auguste Techer will set sail for its home port in Port des Galets, located on the island of La Réunion.
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French Felix Eboue class (POM) offshore patrol vessel Auguste Techer. (Picture source: French MoD)

France's naval strategy in the Indo-Pacific is anchored in its significant territorial presence, sovereignty interests, and its broader geopolitical goals. With 1.65 million French citizens living in the region and vast territories in the Indian and Pacific Oceans, France sees itself as an Indo-Pacific power. Its strategy focuses on several key areas: maintaining territorial integrity, ensuring freedom of navigation, and promoting regional stability through multilateralism and alliances.

One of the primary objectives is to protect France's exclusive economic zone (EEZ), the second largest in the world, from threats like illegal fishing and maritime crime. To do so, France has permanently deployed about 7,000 military personnel along with 20 naval vessels and 40 aircraft, spread across bases in French Polynesia, New Caledonia, and La Réunion. These forces are tasked with defending France’s sovereignty, providing disaster relief, and supporting international law, particularly the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) which ensures freedom of navigation across global waters.

Given the rising tensions between major powers like the United States and China, France has increased its naval deployments, regularly sending frigates and surveillance ships through strategic waterways like the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea. French forces also collaborate with key regional allies, including India, Japan, Australia, and the United States, participating in major maritime exercises such as RIMPAC and strengthening diplomatic and defense ties. The French Navy also plays a critical role in countering narcotics trafficking and illegal fishing, using advanced maritime domain awareness tools like satellite imagery and electronic surveillance to monitor its waters.

Despite this, France faces challenges in sustaining its ambitions in the Indo-Pacific due to resource constraints. Its naval assets in the region are often stretched thin, and many of its vessels require modernization. Efforts are underway to address these issues, including the procurement of new patrol vessels and the upgrade of surveillance frigates, but there remains a gap between France’s strategic objectives and its current capabilities.