France flexes navy muscle as new warship heads to eastern Mediterranean

France showcased its military might on Monday with a tour of its new frigate Auvergne, underscoring what the ship's captain said was the importance that Paris attaches to ensuring security and stability in the east Mediterranean.  

The French multi-mission frigate Auvergne is docked at the port of the Cypriot coastal city of Larnaca, on November 8, 2021. AFP - CHRISTINA ASSI

Captain Paul Merveilleux de Vignaux said the Auvergne with its 150-strong crew would be deployed in the east Mediterranean until January to gather intelligence in order to "show how the respect of international law and especially freedom of navigation matters" to France.

"This deployment underlines how important France considers this part of the Mediterranean sea," as well as the country's "willingness to contribute to the stabilisation of this strategic area," de Vignaux told reporters at the Cypriot port of Larnaca.

The Auvergne was commissioned three years ago and has been deployed numerous times primarily in the east Mediterranean. The vessel with its advanced sonar equipment specialises in anti-submarine warfare.  

France has sent its new frigate Auvergne in the eastern Mediterranean, seeking to underscore the importance that Paris attaches to ensuring security and stability in the region https://t.co/Dc0q9XCMA3

— Daphne Papadopoulou (@daphnenews) November 8, 2021

De Vignaux said this is the twelfth time that the Auvergne has visited Cyprus, which he described as key to supporting French naval operations in the region.

"There can't be efficient and sustainable naval operations without support, and Cyprus is the centerpiece of it," de Vignaux said.

The French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle has also made repeated trips to Cyprus.

Military base

France and Cyprus have developed closer relations in recent years. 

Cyprus permits French aircraft to use its military air base in the southern eastern corner of the island nation and has an agreement for French ships to use its southern naval port - which is currently undergoing an upgrade.  

France is also keen to make its presence felt in the region in order to send signals to Turkey not to interfere with offshore drilling by French energy company Total and its Italian partner Eni, which begins next year in waters off Cyprus' southern coast.

Turkey doesn't recognise Cyprus as a state and contests waters where the Cypriot government claims exclusive economic rights. 

A Turkish Navy warship patroling next to Turkey's drilling ship 'Fatih' which made the major gas discovery in the Mediterranean TURKISH DEFENCE MINISTRY/AFP/File

Ankara says that a large chunk of those waters either overlap its continental shelf or belong to breakaway Turkish Cypriots.

Cyprus was split in 1974 when Turkey invaded after a coup by supporters of union with Greece. 

Only Turkey recognises a 1983 Turkish Cypriot declaration of independence in the island's northern third where it maintains more than 35,000 troops.

In February 2018, Turkish warships prevented a drill ship leased by Eni from conducting exploratory drilling in waters southeast of Cyprus.  

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The French naval presence also aims to serve notice to Turkey that a perceived power vacuum in the east Mediterranean will be filled by Paris and not Ankara, said political analyst Anna Koukkides-Procopiou.  

"[President] Macron needs to project this power in the region because this is part of his whole policy of establishing or re-establishing France as a great power, which is not only dominant in the region in the Middle East, but in Africa," Koukkides-Procopiou told Associated Press.

(With AP)