Outgoing French Pacific Fleet commander says ‘tensions are rising’ in Pacific

French Navy Falcon Guard jets and the US Coast Guard conduct surveillance missions in the waters of Vanuatu’s exclusive economic zone
photo: French Ministry of Defense

The outgoing commander of France’s Pacific Fleet, Commodore Geoffroy Dandigne, warned that tensions are rising in the Pacific and that preparations need to be made.

Reflecting on the past two years commanding the French Pacific Fleet from headquarters in Papeete, outgoing Commodore Andinier said he had been busy strengthening the protection of French Polynesia’s vast Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), which is the size of Europe.

He said it was an encounter with a warship unlike anything he had ever seen.

“We see Iranian ships passing through our EEZ, we see Chinese ships approaching the EEZ on Christmas Day 2022. This is indicative of military deployments that are increasingly affecting all regions of the world. It signals that we must be prepared…”

“We live in a world of growing tensions. So we have to anticipate this capacity and manage this space and reaffirm our role in protecting Polynesia and Polynesians.”

Commodore Geoffroy d’Andigné (right) and visiting U.S. 7th Pacific Fleet Commander Vice Admiral Karl Thomas in Papeete in October 2023.
photo: Ministry of Armed Forces

Brigadier General Andine warned against a false sense of security regarding the Pacific Ocean or the assumption that conflicts on the other side of the world would not affect the region.

“If there is a conflict, it will no longer be regional, it will be global and it will be a concern for everyone,” he told local media. Radio 1.

Last week, Andini handed over command to Commodore Guillaume Pinget, 51, who was previously the commander of the Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier.

From his base in Papeete, Commodore Guillaume commanded the French Navy for the entire Pacific, as well as all French armed forces in French Polynesia.

In October 2023, after a series of visits and exchanges, France also strengthened its ties with the U.S. Seventh Pacific Fleet in Yokosuka, Japan, by appointing a permanent representative, a French naval officer, to better liaise and coordinate with U.S. naval forces in the Pacific.