The push for closer trade and security co-operation from Macron, who arrived in Vietnam late on Sunday, is intended to contrast with an increasingly militarily assertive China and the imposition of tariffs by US President Donald Trump on export-reliant countries in the region. “France, along with the European Union, represents a partner that is both reliable, committed to issues of sovereignty, and respectful of their independence,” an official in the Elysée palace said ahead of the trip. Trump last month hit Vietnam, Indonesia and other south-east Asian countries with some of his highest “reciprocal” tariff rates after China. While the US president has temporarily paused those levies, the region’s search for new trade opportunities could strengthen ties with the EU. 

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After Vietnam, Macron will head to resource-rich Indonesia, where President Prabowo Subianto is seeking foreign investments to spur a slowing economy. Indonesia has previously bought French defence equipment, including Rafale fighter jets and Scorpène submarines, as it seeks to reduce historic reliance on Russian weapons. 

“There may be other contracts announced during the trip,” said Céline Pajon, who heads Japan and Indo-Pacific research at the Center for Asian Studies, French Institute of International Relations think-tank. “France and Indonesia intend to raise the defence partnership into something long-term and structural.” 

The Indonesian government said in a statement this month that Macron’s visit reflected “the commitment of both countries to enhance co-operation in facing global challenges”. Macron plans to discuss diversification of France’s access to materials critical for production of smartphones and semiconductors while in Indonesia, a major producer of such minerals, the French official said. During his final stop of the trip in Singapore, Macron will give a speech at the Shangri-La Dialogue, Asia’s largest defence forum. 

“It is the first time a European leader has been invited to give this speech, and it is in recognition of how Macron has developed a real Indo-Pacific strategy. He also encouraged the EU to adopt one as well,” Pajon said.

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