France: India’s Natural Ally | 21 Jul 2023

Celebrating 25 years of the India-France strategic partnership was at the top of the agenda during the Prime Minister’s two-day visit to France which ended with a number of agreements and a slew of defence deals.

The visit marked the two countries launching an “Indo-Pacific Roadmap" covering security, the environment and renewable energies etc. as well as a “Horizon 2047" agenda for the wider relationship, covering a deeper military industrial relationship, cooperation in digital technologies, transition towards a low-carbon economy, urban transition, trade and investments, and people-to-people contacts.

While India’s ties with each of the P5 countries of UNSC is unique, the feature that sets apart the India-France relationship is the geopolitics sans value judgements. It would not be wrong to say that of all the countries that the PM has visited, especially in the West, France is perhaps the one with which India has the most common ground.

How are India’s Diplomatic Ties with France?

• Pillars of Relationship:
  • India and France share long-standing cultural, trade and economic linkages. The India-France strategic partnership, signed in 1998, has gathered significant momentum over time and has today evolved into an even closer multifaceted relationship that spans diverse areas of cooperation.
  • Both countries have held on to three pillars in the relationship:
    • Non-interference in each other’s internal affairs
    • A steadfast belief in strategic autonomy and non-alignment
    • The refusal to pull the other into its own coalitions and alliances
  • In this and many other ways, their relationship has proven itself to be different from the other major partnerships that India has built across the world.
• France’s Response on India’s Affairs:
  • The Indo-French ties are built on a respect for each other’s strategic autonomy. France has remained steadfast in its refusal to comment on India’s internal affairs or its foreign policy choices.
  • While France has taken a leading role in the western pushback to Russia’s war in Ukraine, it has not joined other western countries in publicly exhorting India to change its stand.
    • Even when India abstained from voting on the resolutions at UNSC and UNGA, no word of disappointment was expressed by France given the fact that it co-authored a UNSC resolution with Mexico (to ensure unhindered humanitarian inside the conflict zone);
  • Even when India conducted its nuclear tests in Pokhran (Pokhran-II), the French diplomats in the UNSC did not join the US-led move to impose sanctions on India.
    • It even stepped in with uranium supplies to power the Tarapur reactors.
• Defence Partnerships at Core:
  • At the core of the Indo-French relationship is the defence partnership; France comes across as a far more willing and generous partner when compared to other western countries.
  • Starting with the Rafale deal to the latest acquisition of 26 of the aircraft’s marine version, the French have been willing to give the Indians some of their best defence systems.
  • Meanwhile, technology transfers by France have already helped India construct six Scorpene-class submarines with another three now being procured to boost the navy’s falling numbers.
• Similarity in Stand on NATO+:
  • France announced publicly that it disapproves of a North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO)-plus partnership plans, that would see the Trans-Atlantic alliance build direct ties with Japan, Australia, New Zealand, South Korea and even India.
  • India has also rejected the plan saying that NATO “is not a template that applies to India”.
• Strategic Partnerships:
  • France had been non-problematic about the “Quad-Plus” coalitions, first floated in 2020, (but were dropped after US-France rift over the AUKUS agreement).
  • France is also the only country the Indian Navy has conducted joint patrols with so far, and future plans could involve the use of French international territories in Reunion, New Caledonia and French Polynesia, and even India’s Andaman Islands, for port calls and reconnaissance by both navies on a bilateral basis.
  • The India-France Roadmap on the Indo-Pacific released recently also clarifies that neither side is attempting to pull the other into its other regional military coalitions.

Challenges

• The diplomatic ties between France and India, despite being positive, lack a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) which limits the trade potential from being utilised to its fullest. The slow to no progress on the India-EU Broad-Based Trade and Investment Agreement (BTIA) also adds to this issue.
• While the two nations share a strong defence partnership, their defence and security cooperation can be influenced by differing priorities and approaches. India's regional focus and "non-aligned" policy may occasionally clash with France's global interests.
• France has also raised concerns over India's inadequate protection of intellectual property rights, impacting French businesses operating within India.

Way Forward

• Leveraging Similar Ambitions to Empower Each Other:
  • A shared determination to maintain strategic autonomy in a complex geopolitical landscape has helped both powers develop a degree of trust and a pragmatic partnership.
  • France is strong enough to have something to offer on the diplomatic, military, space, and nuclear sectors to India.
    • India is important enough for France when it comes to trade and defence cooperation in the context of threats like Russian aggression or terrorism in Africa.
  • Both can support each other in shaping international order or even to balance out other nations on which one of them is heavily dependent.
• Better Cooperation in Indo Pacific:
  • The Indo-Pacific concept has provided a useful frame for the thriving Franco-Indian relations. France, more than the Quad partners, has a direct interest in the stability of the Indian Ocean owing to its overseas territories and military bases in the Indian Ocean.
  • The Indo-Pacific forum between the two should be able to better assist in ensuring strategic interests and bilateral cooperation.
• Potential Areas of Cooperation with France:
  • France plays a critical role in India's ambitious plans to expand domestic weapon production with increased private and foreign investment.
  • Discussions should encompass emerging areas of collaboration, including connectivity, climate change, cyber-security, and science and technology.

Conclusion

France and India are two major powers, one in Europe and the other in Asia, with a similar conception of the world. In effect, both countries follow an independent foreign policy and practise strategic autonomy, which they hope will enable them to shape a multipolar world. More crucially, both these powers realise that there is a much better chance of this happening if they work in close concert.