No country can be allowed to dominate the Indo-Pacific, the leaders of France and Australia said Wednesday, as regional capitals fret over the rise of an increasingly assertive China.

French President Emmanuel Macron said the two nations — alongside fellow democracy India — had a responsibility to protect the region from “hegemony” — a veiled reference to Beijing’s growing might.

“What’s important is to preserve rules-based development in the region… and to preserve necessary balances in the region.

“It’s important with this new context not to have any hegemony,” he added through an interpreter.