France in the South Pacific : power and politics

Abstract

France through its three Pacific entities is a resident sovereign neighbour in Australia's region. It has been a benign influence in recent years, with strategic benefits for Australia and the region. But this has not always been the case, and its accepted future presence may not be assumed. This thesis analyses France's history in the region to derive indicators for its future policies and regional security, at a time of global change. France has earned a Pacific presence over more than four hundred years. Part I reviews its early history and motivations, which included a spirit of inquiry, internecine rivalry, national prestige and assertion of power, broadening to protection of its civil, missionary and convict populations. Economic considerations were secondary. New Caledonia's role in the American-led Pacific victory in World War II and the establislnnent of nuclear testing in French Polynesia enhanced the significance of the Pacific territories for France's national identity and strategic interests. These factors also catalysed the territories' demands for independence. Generous French financial and political inputs were accompanied by fitful and ambiguous responses. By the 1980s, France had left a poor legacy over Vanuatu's independence, unmet Kanak decolonization demands in New Caledonia had degenerated into civil war, and nuclear testing was increasingly opposed by new Pacific island states. Cosmetic efforts to counter regional opposition failed, undermined by France's bombing of an anti-nuclear vessel in New Zealand. By the end of the 1990s France was obliged to cease its nuclear testing and negotiate the Matignon/Noumea Accords deferring decisions about New Caledonia's status. Part II addresses France's recent management of its entities' demands for more autonomy and independence, and its efforts to engage in the wider region, albeit as an outside power. Its record is mixed, and unfinished, as New Caledonia will vote on its future status after 2014. France has made impressive economic and political investments in its territories and the region. But it has resisted on matters fundamental to pro-independence forces. In New Caledonia, France has been slow to resolve differences over defining electorates, has encouraged French immigration to dilute indigenous numbers, has obfuscated ethnic censuses, has sought to pre-empt agreements on deferred defence and currency questions, and has been unclear about future immigration and mining responsibilities, while scheduled handovers and economic rebalancing have slipped. In French Polynesia, France has shown a lack of tolerance for a pro-independence elected majority. Part III argues that France wants to retain sovereignty over its Pacific collectivities to enhance its international weight and for new economic reasons, as the world's second largest maritime nation through its Pacific coastlines, and given New Caledonia's nickel and hydrocarbon potential. Its ability to achieve this with regional acceptance will depend largely on peaceful democratic outcomes in its territories, particularly New Caledonia. Such outcomes are not assured. Some options for the future are identified.