By Michel Rose
PARIS (Reuters) - French President Emmanuel&nbsp;Macron&nbsp;warned&nbsp;against&nbsp;"new&nbsp;imperialism" in the&nbsp;Pacific&nbsp;during a landmark visit to the region, denouncing predatory behaviour by big powers in a region where China is extending trade and security ties.
France, which has island territories spanning the Indo-Pacific&nbsp;including French Polynesia, has boosted defence ties with India and other countries in the region as part of a move to counter Chinese influence.
In a speech in Vanuatu,&nbsp;Macron, the first French president to have set foot on the&nbsp;Pacific&nbsp;islands nation since war leader Charles de Gaulle, said France would work "shoulder to shoulder" with states in the region to preserve their independence.
"There is in the Indo-Pacific, especially in Oceania,&nbsp;new&nbsp;imperialism appearing and a power logic which is threatening the sovereignty of many states, the smallest and often the most fragile ones,"&nbsp;Macron&nbsp;said, without naming any country.
"The modern world is shaking up the Indo-Pacific's sovereignty and independence. First, because of the predation of big powers. Foreign ships fish illegally here. In the region, many loans with Leonine conditions strangle up development."
Pacific&nbsp;Islands nations are being courted by China, a major infrastructure lender which struck a security pact with Solomon Islands last year, and the United States, which is re-opening embassies closed since the Cold War.
MACRON&nbsp;FOLLOWS AUSTIN
China has been a major infrastructure lender to&nbsp;Pacific&nbsp;Islands nations including Vanuatu over the past decade. Vanuatu's largest creditor is China's EXIM bank, accounting for a third of debt, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Washington has stepped up U.S. Coast Guard patrols and surveillance for illegal fishing in the&nbsp;Pacific&nbsp;islands, after concern at China's naval ambitions.
After Vanuatu,&nbsp;Macron&nbsp;is due to arrive in Papua&nbsp;New&nbsp;Guinea on Thursday evening, hot on the heels of U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, who was there on Thursday.
In May, the U.S. and Papua&nbsp;New&nbsp;Guinea (PNG) signed a defence agreement that sets a framework for Washington to refurbish PNG ports and airports for military and civilian use.
The United States and its allies are seeking to deter&nbsp;Pacific&nbsp;Islands nations from establishing security ties with China, a rising concern amid tension over Taiwan.
Macron's advisers say France can be an "alternative" and help island nations diversify their partnerships without becoming too reliant on one single country.
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(Reporting by Michel Rose; additional reporting by Kirsty Needham in Sydney; editing by Andrew Cawthorne)

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France's Macron warns against new 'imperialism' in the Pacific