France will still seek to retain some degree of bilateral cooperation with China, despite its rising concerns over Beijing's assertiveness in the Indo-Pacific. As discussed in the first part of this series, French decision-makers have for decades considered that China needs to be included in global governance structures for the latter to be effective. Nonetheless, China's growing military assertiveness in recent years has raised concern in France, which is worried that Beijing's activity could threaten freedom of navigation in the Indian and Pacific Oceans, as well as imperil the region's greater strategic stability. This has prompted Paris to stiffen its approach to Beijing, as illustrated by the expanding number of French naval deployments in both the South China Sea and Taiwan Strait in recent years. Such deployments are likely to persist, if not expand, in the future, though France will also look to simultaneously promote multilateral dialogue with Beijing as...
