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Commander-in-Chief of the Mediterranean Maritime Zone (CECMED), Vice Admiral Gilles Boidevezi, said on Thursday that France would conduct naval exercises with Romania, Bulgaria, Ukraine and Turkey.
"These exercises are part of the free movement of our ships across the sea. It is an opportunity for us to have various activities of cooperation with our partners and as part of these actions we will carry out exercises with the Romanian navy, but also with the Ukrainian, Turkish and Bulgarian naval forces," Boidevezi told a press conference at the French Embassy.
He explained that these are bilateral exercises, namely "traditional activities that are part of the naval cooperation, according to the partnerships with each of the countries, and which aim at the interoperability of our naval forces."
Boidevezi also said that interoperability is a key element. He spoke of the importance of cooperation with Romania, which "is not limited to the Black Sea area." "We have many common interests related to the Mediterranean-Black Sea region as a whole," he said. Thus, "the relationship between France and Romania must be strengthened, along with the riparian countries."
In his discussion with Romanian officials, he spoke about the fact that "Romania is a country on the shores of the Black Sea (...), we need the knowledge and understanding of the area from the Romanian side." "The analyses that the Romanian partners can send us and our coordination in the area are fundamental," Boidevezi pointed out.
The official also spoke of a "territorialization" of the marine space.
"It is important to have a presence at sea (...), we have, not only in the Black Sea and the Mediterranean Sea, but also in the China Sea, for example, a trend of territorialization of maritime spaces. France, together with partners from NATO and the European Union is attached to the Montego Bay Convention, which emphasises the free status of the seas. But, as usual, a document is just a piece of paper if it is not implemented on the field," he said.
"We need to show that we have the capacity to run ships, to act and to ensure that international treaties are complied with. This is not to everyone's liking and sometimes there can be interactions. It is important to maintain a dialogue on a military level, to avoid incidents. To this end, meetings were held in spring between the French Navy and the Russian Navy to discuss the agreement, with a view to avoiding incidents at sea. These agreements are similar to those made by the Americans or the British, to name a few, with the Russians," added the Commander-in-Chief of the Mediterranean Maritime Zone.
Vice Admiral Gilles Boidevezi is visiting Romania until Friday, as part of the French-Romanian military cooperation actions, the French Embassy announces. He will also pay a visit to Constanta, where the multi-role frigate (FREMM) "Auvergne" has a stopover between 16 and 20 December.
This ship is sailing in the Black Sea waters as part of the presence missions, regularly carried out by the French Navy in the maritime areas of Europe, in collaboration with its allies in NATO and the European Union.
The stopover of the frigate "Auvergne" in the Port of Constanta is part of the bilateral plan of cooperation between the French and Romanian navies. In the port, the crew of the French frigate will have an exchange of experience with the representatives of the Romanian Naval Forces, in order to share the expertise and knowledge between the allies. After the departure of the ship from the Port of Constanta, joint exercises with the Romanian Naval Forces are planned at sea.
