France Ingress in Indo-Pacific Region: Options for Pakistan

Abstract

The Indo-Pacific region has emerged as a pivot for a strategic competition among the Great Powers since the dawn of twenty-first century. The shift in American ideational leadership and rise of China provided a strategic space for France which is a mid-size global power in Europe and global politics. France enjoys a significant position in the Indo-Pacific due to its colonial past and overseas territories in Indian and Pacific Ocean. Its Indo-Pacific strategy aimed to maximize its role in the region when United States is crafting new institutional architecture while bypassing its European partners. French involvement in the region draws attention to the fact that mini-lateralism is not a solution for the complex problems of the region. Besides, Pakistan being an Indian Ocean littoral state, cannot ignore the geo-economic and geopolitical developments in the region. That is why Pakistan is aspiring to shift from geo strategy to geo-economics as the region offers colossal opportunities to promote Blue Economy in Pakistan.