This edited volume provides state perspectives on Europe’s security engagement in the Indo-Pacific from four different sub-regions and twelve different countries in the Indo-Pacific, namely – East Asia (Japan, China and South Korea); Southeast Asia (Indonesia, Vietnam and Singapore); Oceania (Australia, New Zealand and Fiji) and lastly South Asia (India, Sri Lanka and the Maldives). By engaging with diverse countries, the framing in the book also allows for the inclusion of established and emerging regional groupings, such as the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad).

Since the mid-1990s, the European Union has defined the Asia Pacific as one of its key strategic targets on its ambitious road towards a global power. Over the past decades, big changes have taken place on both sides and the wider world. It’s high time to evaluate the EU’s performance in its Asian policy. In fact, the EU is at crossroads with its Asia Pacific policy. On several aspects, the EU is compelled to redefine its interests and roles, and rethink its strategies and policies towards the dynamic and ever important Asia Pacific region. This volume addresses this theme, by elaborating the general context, major issues and countries in the EU’s Asia Pacific policy. It covers issue areas of traditional security, economy and trade, public diplomacy, and human security and focuses on the EU’s relations with China, Japan, the ASEAN countries, and Australasia.

Over the past five years, the Indo-Pacific region’s importance for Europe has grown significantly. However, the launch of the EU Strategy for cooperation in the Indo-Pacific in September 2021 and its subsequent implementation have been affected by growing polarisation between the US and China, and by a fast-changing scenario caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine. This Report examines the state and perspectives of the EU’s Indo-Pacific strategy, 18 months after its launch. Are there avenues for cooperation with regional military initiatives, such as the QUAD? How is the economic landscape changing, in particular after the start of negotiations for the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF)? What are the main strategies of Indo-Pacific countries for the green transition? And how do the US, China, and ASEAN countries view and act in the Indo-Pacific region?

This wide-ranging book analyses EU-Asia security relations in a systematic, substantive and comparative manner. The contributions assess similarities and differences between the EU and its Asian partners with respect to levels of threat perception, policy response and security cooperation in the context of historical, institutional and external factors – such as the influence of the United States. The book presents original empirical research organised in four parts: a number of contributions providing discussions of the global context in which EU-Asia security relations develop; a series of chapters covering the range of dimensions of EU-Asian security, including both traditional and non-military aspects of security; chapters addressing the specific issues touching on bilateral relations between the EU and its partners in the Asia-Pacific region; and a final part presenting the overall findings across the various contributions together with the future outlook for EU-Asia security relations.

Relations between the European Union (EU) and India have been growing in quantity and quality in the last two decades. Alongside the economic dimension, the political and security elements of the relationship have emerged as the most promising area for further collaboration between the two sides. This volume brings together analyses and recommendations on EU-India security relations in the fields of: (i) maritime security and freedom of navigation; (ii) cyber security and data protection; (iii) space policy and satellite navigation; (iv) defence cooperation. The chapters have been written by a select pan-European and Indian group of experts tasked by the Rome-based Istituto Affari Internazionali (IAI) and the Mumbai-based Gateway House (GH) in the framework of the EU-India Think Tank Twinning Initiative – a public diplomacy project aimed at connecting research institutions in Europe and India funded by the EU. The book provides the reader with original research and innovative insights into how to move forward EU-India relations. It will be essential reading for scholars and policy makers interested in the subject.

The EU published its 'Joint Communication on the EU strategy for cooperation in the Indo-Pacific' on 16 September 2021. This Indo-Pacific Strategy lays out five crucial security issues in the region that directly affect the EU's own security and prosperity. These are maritime security, nuclear security and non-proliferation, cyber security, trafficking, and terrorism. In order to deal with these security issues, the EU has CSDP missions and the CSDP toolbox at its disposal. In fact, the long-standing Operation Atalanta in the Western Indian Ocean is an example of how CSDP missions can protect EU security interests in the Indo-Pacific. Meanwhile, PESCO, EPF, a more robust cyber policy, or the recently established Coordinated Maritime Presences are CSDP toolbox components that can also promote security interests in the region. In addition, the EU has a set of partnerships in the Indo-Pacific region that can enhance its power projection and, consequently, strengthen its security. Through a combination of all these tools, the EU can have a security and defence presence in a region where core interests are at stake.