Though its intelligence-sharing arrangement is global, the United Kingdom’s four partners in the Five Eyes alliance reside in the region: the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. In addition to this, the United Kingdom has military assets across the Indo-Pacific, including the British Indian Ocean Territory (leased out to the United States), as well as bases and support and training facilities in Oman, Bahrain, Singapore, Kenya, and Brunei. The United Kingdom also has historical ties to the region through the Commonwealth of Nations and the Five Power Defence Arrangements with Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia, and Singapore. At least 1.7 million British citizens live across the Indo-Pacific. Unsurprisingly, France was the first European country to formally adopt an Indo-Pacific strategy, captured in three documents issued by its Ministry for the Armed Forces (in 2018 and subsequently updated), and the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs (June 2019 and another in April 2021 specifically on partnerships).Īs part of its overseas territories in the Indo-Pacific, the United Kingdom counts the British Indian Ocean Territory and the Pitcairn Islands in the Pacific Ocean. The region is also home to 1.5 million French citizens and 8,000 permanently stationed French soldiers. France has overseas territories both in the Indian Ocean (La Réunion, Mayotte, and the Scattered Islands) and in the Pacific (New Caledonia and French Polynesia), and 93 percent of France’s Exclusive Economic Zone is located in the Indo-Pacific. France was the first European country to champion the idea of engaging with the Indo-Pacific, with government officials publicly arguing for a strategic presence in the region since 2016. Not all European engagement is created equal. Unless Europe is able to deliver on all these counts, its strategies will remain paper tigers.Įuropean Strategies on the Indo-Pacific: Similarities and Differences An effective European Indo-Pacific strategy will have to be based on providing alternatives to Chinese investments, public goods - from concrete help like capacity building and the provision of vaccines to broader support for international rule of law - and pursing partnerships in new formations. While Europe has reinvigorated its partnerships with India, Japan, and Australia, it is still behind the curve on engaging the new U.S. Infrastructure initiatives like the E.U.-Asia connectivity strategy, through which Europe can make a real contribution to the Indo-Pacific, have languished too long in the corridors of Brussels and need funding now. level and with the United Kingdom will occur remains unclear. Resources and capabilities are limited and unevenly spread. But Europe should now move beyond expressions of interest in the Indo-Pacific. The first hurdle has been cleared: European policymakers have begun to see China in a new light and have realized that developments in the Indo-Pacific will impact Europe. There are clear points of convergence between Europe’s various approaches to the region - from geographic scope to policy principles these countries seek to promote and partners they want to work with. European countries now seek to “diversify” their partnerships in the Indo-Pacific, doubling down on countries like India and Japan. While most European leaders speak of China-related challenges in hushed terms, it is obvious that it is the cause of their concerns over Indo-Pacific stability. China is still in focus, but for altogether different reasons. European countries have, in the past few decades, largely limited their interest in the Asia-Pacific to economic ties, focusing predominately on China. Even the European Union has signaled its strategic shift to the region by issuing a preliminary strategy, which will be formally adopted in September of this year.Įven though European countries are not fully aligned with America’s approach of competition with China across policy fields, for Europe’s partners, including the United States and those in the region, this is still an encouraging sign. France, Germany and the Netherlands have adopted Indo-Pacific strategies, while the United Kingdom has outlined the pillars of its “Indo-Pacific tilt” in its integrated review. NATO identified China as presenting “systemic challenges,” and the European Union agreed to work with the United States toward a “free and open Indo-Pacific.” But Europeans have been thinking strategically about the region for some time now. During his visit last week to Europe, President Joe Biden sought greater alignment between the United States and its European allies on policy toward China and the Indo-Pacific.
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