A tug escorts the French Navy ship Vendemiaire (F734), a Floreal-class surveillance frigate of the French National Navy, on its arrival for a five-day benevolent visit to a port in Metro Manila, Philippines, March 12, 2018. REUTERS / Romeo Ranoco / Photo File
The European Union decided on Monday to step up its influence in the Indo-Pacific region, using areas from security to health to protect its interests and counter China’s growing power, although the bloc insists its strategy is not against Beijing.
Led by France, Germany and the Netherlands, which have first established ways to deepen ties with countries such as India, Japan and Australia, the 27-member bloc wants to use the nascent plan to show Beijing that it is against the spread of authoritarianism.
The bloc “considers that the EU should strengthen its strategic focus, presence and actions in the Indo-Pacific … on the basis of promoting democracy, the rule of law, human rights and international law,” EU foreign ministers said in a statement. . Diplomats said the plan was not “anti-China”.
The 10-page document will now be followed by a more detailed strategy in September, foreign ministers agreed at a video conference, saying they would try to work with “partners with the same idea” to support basic rights in the Indian region. Pacific.
The plan could mean a higher EU diplomatic profile on Indo-Pacific issues, more EU staff and investment in the region, and possibly a greater security presence, such as the dispatch of ships across the South China Sea, or placing Europeans on Australian patrols, although all the details have yet to be agreed.
Although he does not mention China in detail, the language in the EU statement is the code to support the United States under President Joe Biden in its approach to China, amid concerns that Beijing is pursuing technological and military modernization that threatens the West and its Asian trading partners.
EU diplomats say Indo-Pacific countries want the EU to be active in the region to keep trade open and ensure they do not face a choice between Beijing and Washington, whose relations are turning into a confrontation.
The EU statement, which follows similar plans by former EU member Britain, comes as European attitudes strengthen against China over its security crackdown in Hong Kong, the treatment of Uighur Muslims and the COVID-19 pandemic, first identified in China .
“The EU will further develop partnerships and strengthen synergies with partners of similar interest and relevant security and defense organizations,” the EU statement said.
“This will include responding to challenges to international security, including maritime security.”
It is not clear how far the EU is willing to go in terms of security. The bloc is starving for new trade and sees the Indo-Pacific as offering potential.
He listed the commitment to seek free trade agreements with Australia, Indonesia and New Zealand. German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas has warned of a lack of the EU after China and other Asian and Pacific economies signed what could become the world’s largest free trade agreement in 2022.
The EU document also said that the bloc wanted to sign an investment treaty with China, which both sides agreed in principle at the end of 2020.
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