Europe’s Involvement in the Indo-Pacific Region: Determined on Paper, Timid in Reality
Axel Berkofsky
Introduction
France adopted its Indo-Pacific strategy in 2018, Germany in 2020 and the EU in 2021. None of this comes a minute too soon as geo-political and geoeconomic competition in the Indo-Pacific Region is here to stay and rapidly intensifying. Much of this is due to China’s belligerent actions, for instance, its efforts in building civilian and military facilities on disputed islands in the South China Sea or turning the Indian Ocean into a ‘Chinese lake’, as policymakers in New Delhi fear. Amidst such postures, what role is Europe poised to play in the Indo-Pacific security landscape? Does it plan on taking a leadership role in the region?
Related Publications
-
South Korea’s Indo-Pacific Strategy, Atmanirbhar Bharat, and the IPEF: Convergence and Commonality
For some time now, the existing multilateral networks such as those of the United Nations (UN) system have been largely ineffective in providing good global governance and helping create resilience, […]
-
Risk Reduction and Crisis Management on the Korean Peninsula
The situation on the Korean Peninsula is inherently intertwined with the growing instability of the East Asian security environment, where high tensions significantly increase the risk of unintended incidents and armed […]
-
Washington Declaration: Beyond Korea, What it Means for India?
In April 2023, South Korea and the United States released the Washington Declaration to reiterate and upgrade their treaty alliance. In outlining a joint nuclear deterrence strategy, the Declaration reaffirmed […]
-
What does China as Peacemaker between Saudi Arabia and Iran Mean to India?
The China-brokered March peace deal between Iran and Saudi Arabia – the leaders of the Shia and Sunni worlds, respectively – is certainly an incredible achievement. As highlighted in the […]
-
Korea Looks to Europe: Its Growing Military-Strategic Cooperation with NATO
Korea is looking to Europe in the military-strategic dimension. It wants to boost ties with NATO even as strengthening relations with the AP4 (four Asia-Pacific partners) forms an important aspect […]
-
India in a world of asymmetrical multipolarity
In the past decade, the world has gathered an irreversible momentum in global geopolitical transitions, including the fragmentation and reconfiguration of the international order. This is largely due to the […]