The Diplomat | Author
Paco Milhiet
Dr. Paco Milhiet is currently a Visiting Fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore. He was previously a lecturer at the French Air Force Academy, Sciences Po Aix, and the University of French Polynesia. He holds a Ph.D. in International Relations, jointly conferred by the University of French Polynesia and the Catholic Institute of Paris. His research interests include France’s Indo-Pacific strategy, the French overseas territories, and the geopolitics of the South Pacific region.
July 12, 2025
Reframing the French Indo-Pacific: Clipperton, France’s Indo-Pacific Edge
By Paco Milhiet
Although its land area is modest – only 1.7 square kilometers – Clipperton’s strategic and ecological significance is anything but small.
July 05, 2025
Reframing the French Indo-Pacific: New Caledonia, How to Overcome the Geopolitical Impasse?
By Paco Milhiet
The ongoing crisis in New Caledonia threatens to unravel more than three decades of French diplomatic engagement, as well as France’s broader strategy in the region.
June 28, 2025
Reframing the French Indo-Pacific: French Polynesia, a Model of Shared Sovereignty?
By Paco Milhiet
French Polynesia is a pivotal element of France’s strategy in the Pacific – and offers a compelling case study for shared sovereignty within the French Republic.
June 20, 2025
Reframing the French Indo-Pacific: Wallis and Futuna: Of Monarchies, Catholicism… and Rugby
By Paco Milhiet
The archipelago may not hold major strategic weight in the Indo-Pacific, but it offers a fascinating case study of institutional hybridity within the French Republic.
June 14, 2025
Reframing the French Indo-Pacific: Les TAAF, a ‘Fictional Collectivity’ of Real Strategic Interests
By Paco Milhiet
The TAAF’s recent integration as a component of France’s Indo-Pacific strategy marks a new chapter in the atypical connectivity between three very different areas.
June 07, 2025
Reframing the French Indo-Pacific: Mayotte, a Contested Sovereignty
By Paco Milhiet
Mayotte's contested sovereignty has given rise to a complex nexus of challenges: mass irregular migration, mounting social tensions, and regional isolation.
May 31, 2025
Reframing the French Indo-Pacific: La Réunion, France’s Strategic Outpost
By Paco Milhiet
La Réunion embodies France’s enduring presence in the Indian Ocean and its ambition to project influence across the wider Indo-Pacific region.
May 01, 2025
France in the Indian Ocean: Navigating National Imperatives and Regional Ambitions
By Paco Milhiet
President Macron’s recent tour of the IOR underscored the complex interplay between France’s global strategic ambitions and the local realities of its overseas territories.
January 28, 2025
La Pérouse 25: France Bolsters Its Strategic Commitments in the Indo-Pacific
By Paco Milhiet
The fifth edition of the exercise in the Indo-Pacific is the pinnacle of a wider 150-day French deployment, centered around the Charles de Gaulle nuclear-powered aircraft carrier.
November 06, 2024
What the Chagos Islands Deal Means for France’s Indian Ocean Territories and Indo-Pacific Strategy
By Paco Milhiet
The Mauritius-U.K. deal will likely draw attention to France, another European sovereign state with contested territories in the Indian Ocean region like Tromelin Island.
August 04, 2023
Pegase 2023: The French Air Force Flies Across the Indo-Pacific
By Paco Milhiet
The Pegase 2023 mission demonstrated a French air force's capacity for long-range intervention and power projection.
May 10, 2023
French Polynesia’s New Pro-Independence Leadership
By Paco Milhiet
The coming political transition in the island territory will have national and international consequences.
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