The EU’s strategic projection in the Indo-Pacific

  • Juan Luis López-Aranguren University of Zaragoza, Spain
DOI: https://doi.org/10.18543/ced-03-2022pp29-49
Keywords: Indo-Pacific, Europe, geopolitics, security, Free and Open Indo-Pacific (FOIP)

Abstract

The Indo-Pacific is becoming the new geopolitical axis of the planet for multiple reasons, among which three stand out: security (with six nuclear powers in the area, some of them amidst clearly growing tensions), demography (with 64 percent of the world population) and economy (with 62 percent of world GDP). Since its founding, the European Union has been absent in the development of a strategy for the region, an absence that has recently ended with the publication of national strategies of three member states (France, Germany, and the Netherlands), as well such as the EU announcement of a future EU strategy for the region. This paradigm shift may mark the beginning not only of greater European cohesion in terms of strategic projection, but also of greater European geopolitical assertiveness in a post-COVID-19 world in the Indo-Pacific and other regions. This article will trace the birth and evolution of the Indo-Pacific concept, will identify the reasons for its geostrategic importance for the European Union, and will analyze both the three national strategies of France, Germany, and the Netherlands as well as the announced EU strategy for the region.

Received: 01 September 2021
Accepted: 05 November 2021

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Author Biography

Juan Luis López-Aranguren, University of Zaragoza, Spain

Ph.D. Professor of Public International Law and International Relations at the Faculty of Law of the University of Zaragoza, as well as in the Máster Universitario de la Abogacía. He is also a member of the Japan Research Group and also teaches the Master’s degree paper “Research on Japanese Studies” at the same university. He has been a postdoctoral researcher at the Japan Foundation at Osaka University and the International University of Japan (IUJ) as Principal Investigator for his research on the relationship between international communication and Japanese social cohesion. He completed his international Ph.D. on the application of rational choice theory in international relations, studying the Senkaku / Diaoyu Islands conflict between Japan and China. Has been a visiting researcher at universities in the UK, Japan, India, Thailand, and New Zealand.

Published
2022-01-28
How to Cite
López-Aranguren, Juan Luis. 2022. “The EU’s Strategic Projection in the Indo-Pacific”. Deusto Journal of European Studies, no. 03 (January), 29-49. https://doi.org/10.18543/ced-03-2022pp29-49.
Issue
No. 03 (2022): SPECIAL ISSUE. European Union-Asia Pacific dialogue: Fostering synergies on global challenges
Section
Articles

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