French frigate Prairial makes port call in Cebu

MANILA, Philippines — The French Navy surveillance frigate Prairial is in Cebu for a port call from Oct. 22 to 25 as part of its operational deployment in the Indo-Pacific, the French embassy in Manila said.

The crew will interact with the Philippine armed forces, reinforcing the French military interoperability with the navies.

The Prairial is a Floréal-class frigate, based in Papeete, Tahiti and belonging to the Armed Forces in French Polynesia.

Dedicated to a wide range of missions, including sovereignty missions in French exclusive economic zones, humanitarian aid and cooperation, the Prairial is 94 meters long, has a crew of around 100 and carries a Dauphin helicopter and regularly carries out missions in Asia.

“This stopover is one of many expressions of the concrete implementation of the letter of intent defining a roadmap for strengthening cooperation between the two countries, signed by Minister for the Armed Forces Sébastien Lecornu and Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro on Dec. 2, 2023,” the embassy said.

France has a longstanding presence in the Indo-Pacific and routinely participates in multilateral military exercises.

The Prairial combats illegal fishing in the French territories’ exclusive economic zones and in international waters.

The frigate and its crew collaborate with the navies of Association of Southeast Asian Nations member states, Japan and South Korea.

The surveillance frigate’s patrol and goodwill mission to the Indo-Pacific reinforced France’s commitment to regional security, freedom of navigation and the international rule of law.