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The EU is stepping up its involvement with nations in the Indo-Pacific region, including the Philippines
The European Union is increasing its strategic involvement with Indo-Pacific nations, particularly the Philippines, in recognition of the region’s “growing economic, demographic, and political weight” in creating the rules-based international order and solving global problems.
The EU Delegation in Manila said, “With this new approach, the EU seeks to contribute to the region’s peace, security, prosperity, and sustainable development, in accordance with the values of democracy, rule of law, human rights, and international law.”
EU foreign policy head Josep Borrell said in the EU Indo-Pacific strategy published in Brussels on September 16 that the “world’s center of gravity is shifting towards” the area, both in geo-economic and geo-political terms.
“The EU’s and Indo-destinies Pacific’s are inextricably intertwined.” In the Indo-Pacific area, the EU is already the largest investor, the most active development partner, and one of the most important trade partners. “Our involvement seeks to preserve a free and open Indo-Pacific for everyone while forging strong and enduring relationships to collaborate on issues like as the green transition, ocean governance, and the digital agenda, as well as security and defense,” he said.
The new plan was revealed after the US, Australia, and the UK established AUKUS, trilateral security cooperation that involves exchanging technologies to enhance military capabilities and preserve Indo-Pacific peace and stability.
On the other side, the EU’s Indo-Pacific strategy will involve the following actions:
- Finishing EU trade talks with Australia, Indonesia, and New Zealand; resuming trade talks and starting investment talks with India; completing an Economic Partnership Agreement with the East African Community; evaluating the possibility of resuming trade talks with Malaysia, the Philippines, and Thailand, and eventually negotiating a region-to-region trade agreement
- Finishing PCAs with Malaysia and Thailand; beginning PCA talks with the Maldives; and completing the EU’s forthcoming new Partnership Agreement with the African, Caribbean, and Pacific States (ACP);
- Forming Green Alliances and Partnerships with Indo-Pacific partners who are motivated and ambitious to combat climate change and environmental degradation. The first was reached in May 2021 with Japan.
- Improving ocean governance in the area, including boosting EU assistance for fisheries management and control systems in Indo-Pacific nations, combating illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing, and implementing Sustainable Fisheries Partnership Agreements;
- Extending the network of Indo-Pacific digital relationships and investigating the potential of new Digital Partnership Agreements with Japan, the Republic of Korea, and Singapore;
- Accelerating the implementation of the Connectivity Partnerships with Japan and India; assisting partners in creating a suitable regulatory environment and enabling the mobilization of essential funds to enhance connectivity between Europe and the Indo-Pacific on the ground;
- Strengthening research and innovation collaboration under the ‘Horizon Europe’ initiative; investigate the inclusion of qualified Indo-Pacific partners such as Australia, Japan, Republic of Korea, New Zealand, and Singapore in this program;
- Looking at options for EU Member States to increase their naval deployments in the Indo-Pacific to assist preserve sea lines of communication and freedom of navigation while also bolstering Indo-Pacific partners’ ability to guarantee maritime security; and
- Improving collaborative research on communicable diseases in the framework of the Horizon Europe research program, reinforcing support for healthcare systems and pandemic preparation for the least-developed nations in the Indo-Pacific region.
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