Kuala Lumpur: France is looking forward to further progress and new initiatives under Malaysia's chairmanship of ASEAN this year, as Malaysia plays a key role as a driving force within the Southeast Asian bloc. Ambassador of France to Malaysia, Axel Cruau, expressed that France is eager to strengthen its dialogue with Malaysia as the Chair to explore ways in which both France and the European Union can collaborate with ASEAN on various priorities, including development and energy.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, Cruau highlighted that France's presence in the Indo-Pacific is motivated by its focus on missions dedicated to safeguarding security, peace, and stability, which are the cornerstones of prosperity. He also noted that Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim is actively engaged in the ASEAN Chairmanship 2025 and is expected to visit Brussels in the coming days, with hopes for positive developments during the trip.
Malaysia officially assumed the ASEAN Chairmanship on January 1 under the theme 'Inclusivity and Sustainability.' This marks the fifth time Malaysia has held the chairmanship, following its terms in 1977, 1997, 2005, and 2015. Earlier, Cruau and more than 50 French Navy crew members honored the crew of the French destroyer Mousquet, which sunk during World War 1 in the Bay of Penang by the German cruiser Emden, at the Church of the Assumption.
Cruau paid tribute to the 43 sailors who perished on October 28, 1914, when the Mousquet was sunk while attempting to intervene during the German raid that also destroyed the Russian cruiser Zhemchug. Currently, the French Carrier Strike Group (CSG), including the Charles De Gaulle aircraft carrier and its escort vessels, is making stopovers in Penang as part of its Mission CLEMENCEAU 25.
The CSG will join the Royal Malaysian Navy in the fourth edition of the multinational exercise 'LA PEROUSE,' organized by the French Navy. This exercise will bring together eight partners: Australia, Canada, France, India, Malaysia, Singapore, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The maritime security exercise will be conducted across three strategic areas: the Straits of Melaka, La Sunda, and Lombok, Indonesia, and will include a wide range of maritime security operations. In the Strait of Melaka, the French Navy will deploy an Air Defence Destroyer, while the RMN will participate with one Corvette and one Offshore Patrol Vessel.