ABSTRACT
Europe’s influence and presence in the Indo-Pacific region has shrunk dramatically since 1945. France and Britain continue to govern a number of islands in the area, but following Britain’s decision to withdraw militarily from east of Suez in 1971, the European footprint in the Indian Ocean became vestigial. Britain’s handover of Hong Kong in 1997 marked the final curtain call to an era when Europeans had substantial military and political influence in the region. The vast majority of Europeans now travelling to the region do so as tourists or for business reasons, with European diplomacy at the national and European level focused on commerce, investment, and development. Several European nations have responded to the problems of piracy, human trafficking, and terrorism by sending ships, aircraft, and soldiers back into the region. Yet while European ships, soldiers, and aircraft have returned to the Western Indian Ocean in a limited way since 2008, neither the European Union as a whole nor particular European nations with the possible exception of France and Great Britain have the capacity to become players in the Great Power contest developing in the Indian Ocean, the South China Sea, and the East China Sea.
