Approaching Credibility: the EU as a Political Actor and Strategic Partner in Northeast Asia

Abstract

This paper consists of an empirical review of the EU's current position as a political actor and strategic partner in Northeast Asia, focussing on the ‘Big Three’ states of the People's Republic of China (PRC), Japan and the Republic of Korea (ROK). The EU has upgraded its strategic linkages with each of the Northeast Asian Trio, with varied intentions and often mixed results. In the case of China, the EU has employed the concept of strategic partnership as a tool for trade diplomacy to induce political and social reforms in China, though the prospect of comprehensive EU-PRC strategic collaboration is hindered by differences in values and internal opposition among EU institutional actors. By contrast, advancing strategic partnerships with Japan and South Korea (hereafter Korea) has been broadly welcomed in Brussels, though Northeast Asia's major democracies continue to hold low expectations of the EU's role in the region. Broadly speaking, the EU has adopted the role of a promoter of regional stability, free-market economics and liberal democracy.