ABSTRACT
The power shift toward Asia and the ensuing power competition in the region and beyond, epitomized by the United States’ once pro-claimed “pivot” to Asia and the current ongoing trade war between the United States and the People’s Republic of China, is forcing the Europeans to invest more – more into strategic thinking, more into capabilities, more into partnerships with major actors in the Asia Pacific. This chapter looks at the guiding strategies for the EU that put EU interests in the center. It also examines how joint challenges are areas for cooperation of mutual benefit in security policy between the EU and India, Japan, Korea, China, and ASEAN. Finally, the chapter discusses the shortfalls in terms of capabilities and political will that will make a credible role for the European Union in Asia a challenge. This issue is difficult to solve, but there are few alternatives given the EU’s vital interests in the region.
