In recent days, it was revealed that the nuclear aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle (R91) of the French Navy was closely monitored by the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) during its most recent deployment in the Indo-Pacific. In parallel, Beijing denounced an excessive naval presence of this country and Western allies in the Asia-Pacific region, exceeding – according to its words – the geopolitical scope defined by NATO and its area of action circumscribed to the North Atlantic.
To understand the background, towards the end of November 2024, the Carrier Strike Group (CSG) of the nuclear aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle began one of the most important deployments of the French Navy in recent years, under the designation Clemenceau 2025. Throughout this deployment, which lasted five months, the French vessels aimed to strengthen ties with allied nations in the Mediterranean and Indo-Pacific regions, where they also carried out military exercises.
The CSG was led by the nuclear aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle, three frigates (presumably from the Aquitaine and Horizon classes in anti-submarine and anti-air variants), a nuclear-powered attack submarine, and a replenishment oiler. Joining this flotilla was the aircraft carrier’s embarked Air Wing, composed of Rafale M carrier-based fighters and E-2C Hawkeye early warning aircraft; also noted was the participation of an Atlantique 2 maritime patrol aircraft, which operated from land bases.
During the month of February, the Charles de Gaulle sailed through Indo-Pacific waters, where it had the opportunity to exercise with the U.S. Navy aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70), and the helicopter carrier JS Kaga of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force, throughout the Celebes Sea and the Philippine Sea on Tuesday the 18th of that month. Simultaneously, the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) of China maintained active surveillance over the French task group, considering the strategic sensitivity of the area to the interests of the Asian Giant and its regional defense policy.
According to a source from the French Navy cited by Naval News, while the units were transiting the Luzon Strait—a strategic maritime passage connecting the Philippine Sea with the South China Sea—an unidentified frigate from the People’s Liberation Army Navy of China followed and closely monitored the transit of the naval force.
On this matter, Colonel Zhang Xiaogang, spokesperson for China’s Ministry of Defense, stated in response to the French naval presence in the region that: “… We firmly oppose NATO using China as an excuse to ‘expand eastward into the Asia-Pacific’ and urge NATO to reflect on its behavior, change course, and contribute more to global security and stability.”
Subsequently, the French aircraft carrier participated in another military exercise with the Philippine Armed Forces in the waters of the South China Sea, before making a stopover at Subic Bay, near Manila. During the operation, satellite images showed that the Chinese aircraft carrier Shandong (CV-17) was not at its home port in Hainan Province, suggesting that it too was deployed in that region. Finally, after five months of deployment, the nuclear aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle of the French Navy returned to the port of Toulon in France on April 30.
According to the French Ministry of the Armed Forces: “This mission demonstrated France’s commitment to preserving freedom of navigation in accordance with international law and allowed it to engage with some twenty allied or partner countries with similar ambitions across a diverse range of missions, from maritime security to high-intensity joint operations involving multiple aircraft carriers.”
As a point to highlight, these events fall within an increasingly frequent pattern of monitoring, surveillance, and maritime patrolling by China over foreign units operating in the Indo-Pacific. The tracking of the Charles de Gaulle and its escorts reflects this strategic interest of the Asian Giant in controlling access to areas it considers sensitive, such as the Luzon Strait and the South China Sea, as well as its willingness to demonstrate its military capabilities through regular deployments around the island of Taiwan and other key points in the Indo-Pacific.
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