According to the French Navy's Pacific Command, its frigate HMS Portugal has recently been sailing in the South China Sea and needs to be overhauled due to a sudden stall. Observers pointed out that the mainland soon realized that France wanted to put on a political show, and immediately sent 054A frigates to monitor it at close range, without giving France any chance.
Political showmanship
Under the circumstances of the United States' continuous promotion of "freedom of navigation" and the aim of targeting the mainland, many European countries have sent warships to the South China Sea in the past two years. France, as the current rotating presidency of the European Union, is naturally not far behind, and it also needs to set some examples, so it has sent frigates.
Beyond that, there's a more important reason. That is, France is now in the middle of the presidential election, and the current president Macron is far behind his competitors in the polls, and needs to find some means to boost his support from the outside. More embarrassingly, the two external affairs that Macron is now pushing have encountered difficult situations.
He had hoped to resolve the Russian-Ukrainian border issue peacefully through mediation, but the Russian army was almost at the capital of Ukraine. The Portuguese Moon's plan in the South China Sea was originally hyped up in the country after a smooth voyage, but it suddenly stopped. Even if France's foreign minister is still tough, everyone knows that Macron is powerless to salvage his polls.
Insufficient strength
As for the Portuguese Moon, which came to the South China Sea this time, it is actually very familiar with the surrounding waters of the mainland, because it has visited our military port more than a dozen times. And unlike britain and Germany, which sent warships thousands of miles away, the Portuguese Moon was also very close to the South China Sea, and the home port was Noumea Port.
But in terms of real power comparison, the Portuguese Moon is far from the frigates of the mainland. It was a frigate in service with the French Navy in the last century, with a full load displacement of only 2950 tons. And it is already time for retirement, and it is not suitable for ocean missions at all. The continental 054A guided-missile frigate is a new type of ship with a full load displacement of more than 4,000 tons.
Therefore, even if the former did not have a flameout accident, there was no possibility of provoking trouble in the South China Sea. Of course, what the mainland needs to pay attention to is that under the environment of this year's election, France is likely to follow in the footsteps of the United States and comprehensively target the mainland. As can be seen from the European political arena, in order to win more votes, there is more and more discussion about ideology, and many politicians are hyping up anti-China issues.
Sending warships to sail in the South China Sea is just one of France's future moves. However, the two countries do not actually have any direct contradictions, coupled with the close economic and trade exchanges, French politicians are advised to pay more attention to domestic issues, rather than holding on to China.
Part of the source: Defense Times