The air combat exercise involved four Rafale aircraft of the French carrier strike group and six fighter jets of the Royal Malaysian Air Force – two Sukhoi Su-30 fighters, two Boeing F/A-18 Hornets, and two Hawk light combat aircraft.

The exercise was witnessed by defence minister Khaled Nordin who boarded the French carrier Charles de Gaulle. Senior officials of the defence ministry and the Malaysian Armed Forces were present, including armed forces chief Gen Nizam Jaffar and navy chief Admiral Zulhelmy Ithnain.

A statement from the French embassy said the high-level training exercises with Malaysia illustrated France’s preparedness to regularly deploy military assets “to enforce international law, defend sovereignty, and protect free and open access to common spaces”.

The embassy said the military cooperation between the two countries involved air deployments with the Pegase annual exercise in the Indo-Pacific region, and exercises between the two navies.

Khaled said in a Facebook post that the joint exercises were part of efforts by France to strengthen ties and defence cooperation in the region, including with Malaysia.

The Charles de Gaulle is deployed in the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean, as part of the Clemenceau 25 mission, aimed at strengthening interoperability with France’s allies.