ABSTRACT
As the Indo-Pacific (IP) is arguably becoming the 21st century’s “pivotal region”, the European Union (EU) has progressively recognised the need to redefine its interests, role and policies in this strategic area. The 2016 foreign policy shift, encapsulated in the EU Global Strategy, heralded the formulation of a more active and comprehensive approach towards the IP. Yet, the Union has long been hesitant to internalise the “Indo-Pacific” concept, instead preferring to retain the term “Asia-Pacific” in official statements, policy documents and bilateral agreements. The unveiling of the EU Strategy for Cooperation in the Indo-Pacific in September 2021 introduced a significant novelty in the EU’s approach. Such evolution was triggered, inter alia, by the release of IP national strategies in France, Germany and the Netherlands between 2018 and 2020.
The chapter is divided into two sections. The first part covers the period from the mid-1990s to date, i.e., from the inception of the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) to the adoption of the EU Indo-Pacific Strategy. It presents the main features of the CFSP, with a particular focus on its Asian dimension. It then examines the 2016 foreign policy review and its implications, while taking into account the multiple challenges the EU faces in the IP region in the current scenario of competitive multipolarity, including the structuring effect of the China-US competition. The second section explores the development of the European Union’s priorities and policies in four selected countries/groups of countries, namely, China, Japan, India and ASEAN.
