Defence Industry: A Key Factor of France’s Indo-Pacific Defence Strategy

Abstract

The objective of this article is to study and analyse the importance of the defence industry to France’s Indo-Pacific defence strategy regarding security and military. The French government has attached great importance to the strategy through the preparation of its official national defence strategy documents, which identify priorities in sovereignty, military cooperation, trade routes and current climate change. In terms of military cooperation, France focuses particularly on multilateral training and operations with its allied nations. It has also driven its arms export policy to the allied army with a demand for high-capacity military equipmentto cope with instability and insecurity in the region. This results in the expansion of military industrial production lines, the development of advanced defence innovation and technology, and the continuous employment augmentation in various industrial sectors within France. In addition, this has created enormous economic value added and long-term industrial sustainability, which enabled France to entirely rely on itself. Moreover, there is the French Directorate of Armaments which serves as a significant igniter in propelling the French defence industry as a whole. All of these reflect President Charles de Gaulle’s adherence to the principles of Strategic Autonomy and the Sovereign State, combined with the Policy of Grandeur framework, which focuses on maintaining freedom of actionin the implementation of global security, economic and industrial policies.