Regular readers will recall that a month ago I emphasized the importance of Nicholas Sarkozy's military and nuclear overtures to India . Now Secretary of Defense Robert Gates is getting the US into the game, according to Al Jazeera : Robert Gates, the US defence secretary, has visited India for talks on military deals including a possible $10.2 billion fighter jet purchase.... Earlier this month India agreed to buy six Lockheed Martin military transport planes worth about $1 billion. The deal marked a major shift in military policy for India, which has traditionally looked to Russia for arms and aircraft.... The discussions come despite talks stalling between the two nations on a landmark nuclear co-operation deal which would reverse decades of US anti-proliferation policy with a nation that has tested nuclear weapons and refused to sign non-proliferation treaties. The agreement permits the US to send nuclear fuel and technology to India, which in turn would separate its military ...

French troops form the bulk of a newly deployed European Union peace-keeping force in Chad and the (completely misnamed) Central African Republic intended to protect relief workers and streamline delivery of humanitarian aid to the starving population in Darfur. Eventually, this force will reach 3,700 troops from 14 countries, now that Austria has also signed up. This is the largest peace-keeping force ever deployed by the European Union (and it's six months late due to internal bickering) as an entity that doesn't (A) revolve around a US cadre or (B) function as a subsidiary of the UN. There are two ways to look at this. One is to be pleased that the damn Europeans are finally getting off their butts and taking responsibility for some of the world's hot spots, so we don't have to.... Or you can recognize that France is carefully positioning itself in all kinds of ways to rival the US as a major geo-political player around the globe, competing under an entirely new par...

Regular readers will recall my treatment of the Franco-Chinese relationship that emerged under Jaques Chirac and continues full throttle with Nicholas Sarkozy at the helm. Today Sarkozy is in India, cementing a deal to bring India into compliance with the International Atomic Energy Agency (making the country eligible to purchase fuel and reactor technology more freely) and to strengthen France's existing position as a military supplier to India. From Al-Jazeera : France and India have completed negotiations on a civilian nuclear technology agreement, the two leaders said, but Sarkozy said the deal depends on India concluding its own agreement on nuclear safeguards with the IAEA. India's booming economy is desperate for energy, and such deals would allow the country to buy nuclear fuels and reactors. They would also bring India into the nuclear mainstream after decades of its isolation due to its refusal to sign non-proliferation treaties and its testing of nuclear weapons.....

The election of Nicholas Sarkozy elated many American neo-cons and conservatives who saw it as leading to a much more pro-American foreign policy stance for France. Certainly, Sarkozy proved on his trip to the US that he understands how to play both our media and our politicians, telling them a great deal of what they wanted to hear. But the fact is, Sarkozy is a strong French nationalist, and France continues to pursue (as it has since the days of DeGaulle) an independent foreign policy that has--at least as one objective--increasing Paris' influence around the world at the expense of Washington's. A primary component of this strategy is the continued strengthening of the Franco-Chinese rapprochement, that is explicitly designed to curb US influence in Asia while opening new French markets on the mainland. One of the least-reported big stories of 2004 was the annual Chinese naval exercises off the shores of Taiwan. China routinely rattles sabres (anchors?) to make the point ...