PARIS (Reuters) – French President Emmanuel Macron held a phone conversation on Friday with Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos, in which Macron reiterated France’s commitment to the IndoPacific region, said Macron’s Elysee office.
France has been trying to maintain its influence in the IndoPacific after a diplomatic row following an earlier decision by Australia to cancel a multi-billion dollar French submarine programme and opt for submarines to be built with U.S. and British technology instead.
Macron told new Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in July that he wanted to focus on the future as they try to rebuild relations badly strained by his predecessor’s decision to ditch that submarine contract with Paris.
(Reporting by Elizabeth Pineau; Editing by Sudip Kar-Gupta)
