The European Union and China’s Multidimensional Diplomacy: Strategic Triangulation?

Abstract

Security constellations in East Asia are often reduced to bilateral competition and territorial or maritime disputes. In this vein, the focus generally lies on the perceived military rise of China and the assumed unavoidable assertive turn in its foreign strategy. This article argues that neorealist interpretations of security issues in East Asia and the role of China that start from the level of bilateral relations tend to overlook the complexity of contemporary multi-player interactions. The European Union (EU) is often excluded from the cartographic mapping of the island disputes in the East and the South China Sea. This, and the modification of China’s security strategy under the fifth generation of Chinese leaders, might allow Europe to position itself as a ‘new’ mediator. A European diplomatic intervention would be the only way for the EU to avoid being trapped in the security spirals evolving in East Asia as a passive ‘follower’.