Conclusion

Abstract

If one of the major and consistent themes of postwar French policy – especially since De Gaulle – has been to reclaim the country’s rank as agreat power with a mission of projecting specific values, then East Asiawith its huge and growing populations, rising powers and dynamiceconomies is one of the areas in which a French absence could not bepermitted (Kessler and Charillon 2001; Charillon 2002; MacRidis1992:32–67). Yet half a century after Dien Bien Phu ignominiouslyended French colonialism in East Asia, the region remains one inwhich the French presence is weak. Despite bold presidential declarationsby De Gaulle in Phnom Penh (1966) and Chirac in Singapore(1996), and comprehensive bilateral agreements with Japan (1996) andChina (1997), the French economic, political and cultural presence inAsia still pales in comparison to that of the US and the regional powersChina, Japan and even Australia (Bâtie May 2002b). Among the EUcountries, Germany and Britain have been far more successful in theirtrade and investment relations with the East Asian economies, withFrance maintaining a lead (albeit diminishing) only in the three smallIndochinese economies.