1. A series of tweet by Florence Parly on February 8, 2021 and Xavier Vavasseur, “A French Navy SSN Patrolled the South China Sea,” Naval News (9 February 2021).
2. Alice Ekman [Eds.], “La France face aux Nouvelles Routes de la Soie chinoise,” Etude de l’Ifri, October 2018. Available at: www.ifri.org; “Les nouvelles routes de la soie,”Trésor-éco, n°229, Direction générale du Trésor, Ministry of the Economy and Finance (October 2018). https://www.tresor.economie.gouv.fr/Articles/1f64b246-7e41-4284-8de5-b079aecb5b7e/files/7fb43132-5583-4e63-917a-8e2a505c909a.
3. Between 2021 and 2027, Team Europe, meaning the EU institutions and EU Member States jointly, will mobilize up to 300 billion euros of investments for this initiative: See the webpage of the European Commission dedicated to the Global Gateway: https://ec.europa.eu/info/strategy/priorities-2019-2024/stronger-europe-world/global-gateway_en.
4. China’s close relation with Russia in challenging democratic values, its enduring support to North Korea, its strategic partnership with Pakistan, the ongoing borders issues with India as well as the territorial disputes in the East and South China seas generate deep-seated concerns regarding the implications of China’s actions.” France’s Defense Strategy in the Indo-Pacific (2019) p. 8.
5. Chinese-American strategic competition and the behaviour of certain regional actors, giving priority to bilateral arrangements and power relations in order to favour their own national interests, contribute to the breakdown of the international order, while global challenges are requiring greater cooperation from States. The risks of uncontrolled escalation are great in this region, which lacks crisis regulation mechanisms. In line with the principles and values demonstrated in its international commitment, France works for a multilateral international order that is based on the rule of law. 2022 Strategy, p. 10.