European Union and United States: Indo-Pacific strategy
The European Union (EU) is pursuing a strategy for cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region, one of the most economically dynamic regions in the world.
On July 5, 2022, the European Parliament adopted a resolution on the Indo-Pacific Strategy in the field of trade and investment.
The resolution also calls on the European Commission to strengthen its partnerships and ties in the Indo-Pacific region and underlines the importance of the Digital Partnership Agreements, as well as bilateral and regional trade agreements and preferential regimes.
The European Commission and the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy adopted a Joint Communication on the EU Strategy for Indo-Pacific Cooperation on September 16, 2021 (EUR-Lex – 52021JC0024 – EN – EUR-Lex (europa.eu)).
This Joint Communication outlines concrete actions to strengthen the strategic engagement with the Indo-Pacific region.
European Union
In 2022, this bloc has launched several investment packages: the Africa-EU Global Gateway investment package worth €150 billion of investment, the EU-ASEAN investment package worth €10 billion, and the Team Europe initiatives unveiled during the Indo-Pacific Ministerial meeting and the Samarkand Sustainable Connectivity Conference.
Work was done on formalizing an EU-Latin America and the Caribbean Global Gateway Investment Agenda that was presented in July 2023 at the EUCELAC Summit.
United States
President Joe Biden released his first National Security Strategy (NSS) in October 2022.
The NSS, which continues to focus U.S. attention on China as an «imminent challenge» and Russia as an «acute» threat, calls for investing in emerging technologies and modernizing the U.S. military, with particular attention to allies in the Indo-Pacific region and Europe.
Also, the Biden Administration released the public version of its National Defense Strategy 2022 (NDS) in October.
Under the NDS, the Indo-Pacific region remains the focus of U.S. defense planning, with particular emphasis on the need to maintain and strengthen U.S. deterrence against China.
The NDS takes into account challenges posed by Russia, including those related to its invasion of Ukraine, along with threats posed by North Korea, Iran and violent extremist organizations.
In addition, «non-traditional» threats, such as pandemics and climate change, are included in the NDS as part of the national security dialogue.
