Foreign Interference in Distant Territories: French Territories on Azerbaijan’s, Russia’s, and China’s radars

New Caledonia, a far-away non-continental land, has attracted significant attention from various revisionist powers following the 2024 unrest.

It is paramount, however, to make a distinction between the local origins of the conflict and foreign interference that targets those vulnerabilities, especially if one’s goal is to defend against such encroachments of sovereignty as we move forward.

Azerbaijan, China, and Russia all pursue different objectives and employ different means. By engaging in actions that could be described as subversion, they wish to influence the foreign policy of France’s overseas territories. However, their success depends largely on the domestic actors, as they can act as both the gatekeepers and the enablers.

The case of New Caledonia bears significance for the European security architecture and the NATO Alliance: when it is about one of us, it is about all of us.