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France and Singapore Friday upgraded their relationship to a comprehensive strategic partnership as Paris projected its “third way” to Southeast Asian nations during President Emmanuel Macron’s three-nation trip.

During his last stop in Singapore, Macron and host Prime Minister Lawrence Wong agreed to expand cooperation in areas including intelligence sharing and defense.

Elevating ties to a comprehensive strategic partnership is Singapore’s first such diplomatic arrangement with an EU nation.

Since his first stop in Vietnam, Macron has projected France as a “third way” amid US-China rivalry in the wider Asia-Pacific region.

Addressing students in Vietnamese capital Hanoi, Macron said: “We don’t want to be dependent on the great powers.”

“We want to cooperate, but be able to choose. That means in every area of the game: our education, innovation, industry, health, energy, geopolitics, and defense,” Macron told students at Hanoi’s University of Science and Technology early this week when he began his trip to Southeast Asia.

His trip came amid US President Donald Trump’s tariff war, which hit Vietnam with at least 47% levies.

According to Macron's aides, France’s "Indo-Pacific strategy" proposes a third way to the countries of the region.

“We want to be able to work with the Americans and the Chinese. We want to have the best relations in the world, but not to be dependent on them. We want our sovereignty and stability to be respected everywhere,” Macron said.

13 pacts signed with Singapore

“Under the new partnership, we will enhance cooperation in other areas, including deployment of defense technology and critical and emerging technologies,” Wong said during a joint news conference with Macron.

The two countries signed 13 agreements covering nuclear energy, defense cooperation, joint research, and mutual protection of classified information.

Wong said the nations would also “deepen our cooperation in existing sectors and expand our collaboration in new areas like decarbonization and digitalization.”

He also announced plans to establish more high-level dialogue between senior officials.

Macron arrived Thursday in Singapore for a two-day visit, the final stop of his Southeast Asia tour after Vietnam and Indonesia.

*Islamuddin Sajid contributed to this story