TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — France's latest strategic report says China’s military actions around Taiwan in the South China Sea are destabilizing the region.
France's National Strategic Review 2025, released Monday, identified China as a “real strategic challenge,” per CNA. It noted that China is targeting New Caledonia in the Melanesian sub-region due to its strategic location and nickel resources.
The report highlighted the threat to Taiwan, citing Beijing’s ambition to surpass the US as the world’s top power by 2050. It said this ambition explains the growing frequency and scale of China’s military drills around Taiwan.
China has repeatedly held exercises around Taiwan on “an unprecedented scale,” demonstrating its growing military strength. “China could also increase pressure on Taiwan by means other than military force,” the report warned.
It added that uncertainty over US security commitments to Asian allies has made the region “particularly dangerous and volatile.” China’s tactics in the South China Sea are also eroding other nations’ sovereignty.
The report said China is accelerating civil-military fusion in both conventional and nuclear arms. It is the only permanent UN Security Council member and Non-Proliferation Treaty signatory that has not declared a halt to fissile material production.
China reportedly conducted 310 ballistic missile tests in 2024 and launched an intercontinental missile from Hainan into the Pacific with a reported range of 12,000 kilometers. These moves were described as sending a strategic signal to the US and Taiwan.
The report emphasized Taiwan’s critical role in global trade and technology. It said trade and security are now inseparable: “Strategic dependencies now require us to anticipate the global economic risks inherent in any potential conflict, as in the case of Taiwan, a key link in the semiconductor supply chain."
France’s military also warned of China’s rapid advancement in defense technologies such as quantum computing, artificial intelligence, and space. “To support these developments, China is exploiting an unprecedented range of hybrid actions, including cyber operations and scientific and technological predation," said the report.
