EU Security Alignments with the Asia-Pacific

Abstract

Given extensive trade ties, Asia is critical not only for the prosperity of the European continent, but also for the secure flow of goods and services. Unsurprisingly, the EU has repeatedly stated that the EU’s essential interests are closely tied up with developments in Asia, and with the foreign and security policies of the region’s main players. But how much of this rhetoric has been translated into actual security alignments and cooperation between the EU and Asian partners? It is the aim of this article to examine existing security alignments between the EU and Asia in three ways. One is to examine the forms (inter-regional, sub-regional or bilateral) by which EU-Asia security alignments are advanced. The second is to explore the security areas (military versus non-military ones) in which alignment has either been advanced or not and to what extent. The third is to assess how existing EU-Asia security alignments are affected by geo-political changes, such as through the increasing technological, political and military strength of China, the growing political and military Sino-American rivalry, and the post-Covid environment.