Mr. Macron named this form of force gathering the "Alliance of Independent Partners" and also called it the "3rd Road" Strategy of France. Such an alliance helps Mr. Macron show that France can still lead and lead an economic and security bloc in the modern world, independent of the role and influence of the United States. Mr. Macron persuaded South Korean President Lee Jae Myung and Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi for South Korea and Japan to accompany France on this separate path.
Although both are traditional strategic military allies and important economic and trade partners of the US, Japan and South Korea still benefit greatly when accompanying France. These two countries both want and can diversify economic and security cooperation partners in the context of Europe and the Middle East, the Gulf region sinking into conflict, their relationship with China being difficult, and President Donald Trump strengthening internalism in his ruling policy in the US.
The main contents in Mr. Macron's agenda in Japan and France include: Ensuring energy security and maritime security; cooperation in technology and defense; promoting trade exchange and investment activities to help each other grow a dynamic economy and respond to Mr. Trump's trade-protective tariff policy; cooperation in the supply of rare earths, precious metals and cooperation in aviation and space. Many bilateral economic and trade cooperation agreements have been signed. Mr. Macron and Mr. Lee Jae Myung also discussed the agreement that this country's military should be present alternately on the territory of the other country.
According to the statements of Mr. Macron, Ms. Takaichi and Mr. Lee Jae Myung, it can be seen that the level of consensus on the viewpoint is very high, and the coordination of action in the coming time is expected to be closer.
These results are particularly meaningful for Mr. Macron, in the context that France is holding the incumbent G7 Presidency and in just a few months, he will chair the G7 Summit in France.
Japan is a member of the G7, so Ms. Takaichi's active participation will strongly support Mr. Macron raising the flag in the group. The President of South Korea has also been officially invited by Mr. Macron to attend this year's annual high-level meeting of the G7 group.
Overlapping the specific results that Mr. Macron has achieved in this long-distance trip is France's elevation of bilateral cooperation relations with Japan and South Korea. For France and Japan, it is an "exceptional outstanding partnership", while for France and South Korea, it is a "global partnership".
The terms may be different, but in essence they are similar, as both represent the highest level of partnership currently between countries in the world. The special and unique point here is that, although taking the form of bilateral partnership, it does not only stop at the framework of cooperation between the two sides or ordinary binding mechanisms, but also aims to actively directly impact world politics and international relations, that is, far beyond the scope of a bilateral relationship.
As a result, France became Japan and South Korea's most important strategic partners in Europe and these two countries became South Korea's most important strategic partners in the Indo-Pacific region.
