Paris is interested in selling its Mistral-class ships, dubbed the \u2018Swiss Army knife\u2019 of the French Navy, to the Asia-Pacific countries, France\u2019s new armed forces minister, Sylvie Goulard, stated at the Shangri-La Dialogue defense summit in Singapore.<\/b>
\n\u201cWe invite partners from Asia to purchase Mistrals, \u201d she told participants of the IISS Asia Security Summit on Saturday, as cited by TASS.
The Mistral-class amphibious assault ships host up to 16 helicopters, up to 70 armored vehicles, and 450 marines.
\u201cFrance recently sent one of these ships to the region\u201d [to take part in joint drills with the UK, US, and Japan] , Goulard noted, while expressing concern over the situation in the South China Sea.
\u201cAll parties must comply with the law, \u201d Goulard said, adding that \u201cFrance, UK and other European countries are interested in stability in the South China Sea, since a large flow of our trade passes there.\u201d
Last month, US, British, Japanese, and French troops gathered on US islands in the Pacific for drills aimed at supporting the free passage of vessels in international waters, amid fears that Beijing could restrict movement in the disputed South China Sea.
France had two ships participating in the drills, including one Mistral.
Last year, France handed over two Mistral ships \u2013 left over from a broken Moscow-Paris contract and equipped with Russian electronics \u2013 to Egypt.
Both the ships were initially built for, and partly in, Russia as part of a contract signed in 2011.
When the first ship was ready in 2014 and the crew was already on board mastering the vessel\u2019s equipment, France froze the ship\u2019s delivery to Russia. Paris explained the withdrawal with Russia\u2019s alleged role in the conflict in eastern Ukraine.<\/p>\n

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