evidence: French territories in the Indian Ocean (Reunion, Mayotte and the French Southern and Antarctic Lands) are located in the southwestern quarter, near the Mozambique Channel. Within this region, Reunion and Mayotte represent 4 percent of the population, but account for 45 percent of gross domestic product. These territories have a dedicated force of 2,000 troops as part of the Armed Forces of the Southern Indian Ocean Zone. In the Kerguelen Islands, France has a satellite monitoring station. In the South Pacific, French territories are in Melanesia (New Caledonia) and Polynesia (French Polynesia and Wallis and Futuna). France deploys 2,830 personnel there, stationed in New Caledonia (1,650) and in Tahiti (1,180). Strategically located on the axis linking Reunion to French Polynesia, New Caledonia is the core of the French presence in the region. It has a listening station, and its mining potential is vital for the French and European economies. French Polynesia, where France held nuclear tests on the Mururoa atoll from 1962 to 1996, is just as strategically important. While French territories in the Indo-Pacific are mostly stable, their environment is not. France has to contend with territorial disputes (Comoros on Mayotte, Mauritius on the island of Tromelin and Vanuatu on the islands of Matthews and Hunter), as well as China’s continuous trafficking and military provocations.