By Hugh Piper and Kate O’Shaughnessy*
The western Indian Ocean — home to the island states of Mauritius, Madagascar, Seychelles and Comoros, as well as the French territories of La Reunion and Mayotte—occupies little space in Canberra’s strategic imagination. But it still has the potential to affect Australia’s strategic interests. (Australian Strategic Policy Institute. The Strategist.) In a new report by the Asia-Pacific Development, Diplomacy & Defence Dialogue (AP4D), we identify France as a critical partner for Australia to multiply its impact in the far western fringe of the Indo-Pacific.
