The EU’s role in the Indo-Pacific

News: To cope with the rise of China and other Asian economies, the EU unveiled its strategy for cooperation in the Indo-Pacific in 2016. In this backdrop, The Council of EU recently announced the initial policy conclusions.

What does the EU strategy and policy say?

The strategy aims to enhance the EU’s engagement across a wide spectrum, It will work on various fields like maintaining “rules-based international order”; promoting a level-playing field for trade and investment, working towards Sustainable Development Goals and multilateral cooperation; support “truly inclusive policy-making” encompassing the civil society and the private sector, and protect human rights and democracy.

The policy document focussed on strengthening cooperation in sustainable and inclusive prosperity, green transition, ocean governance, digital governance and partnerships, connectivity, security, etc. It promises to focus on the security and development dimensions of its relationship with the region.

What are the shortfalls in the EU approach?

1) Limited security and defence capabilities, when compared to the U.S. and China. 2) Internal Market divisions.

What is the impact of EU strategy on India?

Source: This post is based on the article “The EU’s role in the Indo-Pacific’” published in The Hindu on 16th November 2021.