The La Jolla Dialogues: U.S.–French Security Cooperation in the Indo-Pacific

The La Jolla Center for Pacific Strategy convened the inaugural La Jolla Dialogues on March 30, 2026, at the University of San Diego, bringing together senior French military and diplomatic officials, a retired U.S. Navy flag officer, and international affairs scholars for a high-level conversation on U.S.–French security cooperation in the Indo-Pacific.

The event featured opening remarks and a panel discussion from Major General Patrice Morand, French Defense Attaché to the United States, and Mr. Adrien Frier, Consul General of France in Los Angeles. The dialogue was moderated by Vice Admiral Robert L. Thomas, Jr., USN (Ret.), Distinguished Fellow of The La Jolla Center for Pacific Strategy, and included Professor Randy Willoughby of the University of San Diego’s Department of Political Science and International Relations.

The event was held under the Chatham House Rule. Participants included retired and active duty U.S. military officers, international affairs scholars from San Diego and Tijuana, U.S. and French defense industry executives, members of the French community in Southern California, and Pacific policy researchers and regional security practitioners.

France as a Resident Pacific Power

Central to the evening’s discussion was a reframing of France’s role in the Indo-Pacific. France is America’s oldest and most enduring ally and, less widely appreciated, a resident Pacific power with global interests. Through its overseas territories in French Polynesia, New Caledonia, Wallis and Futuna, and Clipperton Island, France holds the second-largest Exclusive Economic Zone in the world and maintains a permanent sovereign stake in Indo-Pacific stability.

France’s 2025 National Strategic Review identifies countering Russian aggression, managing China’s hardening posture, rebuilding European defense industrial capacity, and sustaining France’s role as a credible security partner beyond Europe as its defining priorities through 2030.

Key Themes

Discussion surfaced six interconnected themes: the challenges of maritime security across France’s Pacific overseas territories; the problem of countering hybrid threats and non-attributed attacks; the urgency of rebuilding European defense industrial capacity; the coordination challenges inherent in the multi-layered European security architecture; the strategic difficulty of balancing continental commitments with sustained Indo-Pacific presence; and the indispensable role of multilateralism as a force multiplier — anchored by the enduring partnership connecting the United States, France, and Europe.

A central insight threaded through all six themes is that European security and Indo-Pacific stability are not separate policy arenas. They are part of a single, globally linked deterrence ecosystem. What happens in one theater shapes credibility and risk calculations in the other.

“The La Jolla Dialogues represents exactly the kind of convening The La Jolla Center exists to do,” said Blaine Worthington, Executive Director of The La Jolla Center for Pacific Strategy. “San Diego sits at the intersection of maritime defense, allied innovation, and Pacific systems thinking. This conversation made clear that our city has a vital role to play in connecting regional expertise to global alliance requirements.”

The La Jolla Dialogues is the Center’s inaugural executive-level conversation series.