CommitteeonSecurityandDefenceII(SEDEII

CommitteeonSecurityandDefenceΙΙ(SEDEΙΙ)

Roughwatersrundeepaswell:TheEUʼsrecentstrategyontheIndo-Pacificoutlinestheimportance oftheregionforaddressingglobalchallengesandshapingtheforeignpolicyagendaoftheEU.Withits significanceandcurrentgeopoliticaltensionsintheregion,howshouldtheEUfurthershapeits activitieswithinandbeyondtheEUStrategyforcooperationintheIndo-Pacific?

ByYiannisPapadopoulos(GR)andFrederikReiff(DE)

1. Backgroundandrelevance

The Indo-Pacific region is a geopolitical area that extends between two regions of the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean. Stretching from the west coast of the United States to the west coastofIndia, the Indo-Pacific is a 24 nations52 regional framework comprising the tropical waters of the Indian Ocean, the western and central Pacific Ocean, and the seas connecting the two in the general areaof Indonesia. The EU is a power that sees big interest in the region, due to the fact that the Union and most of the Indo-Pacific countries are natural partners. This is evidenced by the fact that the EU is

52 Australia, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brunei, Cambodia, Fiji, India, Indonesia, Japan, Laos, Malaysia, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, Timor Leste,UnitedStates,Vietnam.

interlinked due to not only economic but also territorial reasons (EUʼs outermost regions and overseasterritories-linkedtoitsMemberStates-areakeypartoftheUnionʼsapproachtotheregion).

Speaking with data, trade exchanges between the EU and theIndo-Pacificregionarebiggerthanwith any other region in the world, with annual trade tax reaching 1.5 trillion EUR in 2019. In addition, the region is the second-largest destination of EU exports and home to four of the EUʼs ten biggest trading partners. Furthermore, the Indo-Pacific is of extremely geopolitical interest as it hosts major waterways that are of vital importance to EU trade, such as the South China Sea and MalaccaStraits. Given the facts that more than 4.3 billion people live in the area, its share of the worldʼs military expenditure (28% in 2019) as well as its importance in protecting the planetʼsecologicalbalance,we canassumethecrucialmagnitudeofinterestthattheregionevokes.

The balance of power in the region is also shiing as a result of this dynamic. Chinaʼs political and economic ascent poses a challenge to the established powers. The US is increasingly moving its strategic focus from the Atlantic to the Pacific region. Military expenditure in this region is rising continuously, and now makes up just under 30 percent of global spending. At the same time, the regionlackseffectivestructuresforcooperativesecurityandmechanismstocontainconflict.

Geopolitical rivalries, border disputes and simmering domestic and cross-border conflicts put the regionatriskofinstability.Thisisexacerbatedbyrefugeeflowsandregionalandinternationalterrorist networks.

2. Keystakeholders

The High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy (HR/VP) is responsible for carrying out the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) including its component, the Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) of theEU.TheHighRepresentativeis assistedbythediplomaticserviceoftheEU,theEuropeanExternalActionService(EEAS).

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is an intergovernmental organisation and economic union in Southeast Asia. It is composed of ten member states, including Indonesia, the Philippines, and Singapore. Through cooperation and integration in the fields of trade, security, politicsoreducationtheorganisationaimsforstabilityandeconomicgrowth. The Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (QUAD) is a strategic forum between Japan, the US, Australia, and India. QUAD members aim for a free, open, prosperous, and inclusive Indo-Pacific region. While the dialogue focuses on non-military initiatives,themembersalsocooperateondefenceissues, likenavalexercises.

The Peopleʼs Republic of China (PRC) is the biggest power in the Indo-Pacific, with regards to population, economy, and military. Through its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), it aims to improve tradeandinterdependencieswithothercountriesthroughmassiveinfrastructureinvestments.Withits aggressive approach and rising influence, many countriesintheregionseeChinabothasanuisance, aswellasanimportantpartner,consideringtheirhighdependence.

ClickheretoviewthisStakeholderMaponMiro.

3. Challengesandmeasuresinplace

Security

The Indo-Pacific has seen a continuous rise inmilitaryspendingduringthelastyears,atrendthatis not expected to stop, considering the geopolitical tensions intheregion.Besidestheinterestinpeace in the region, Member States also profit from this arms race, by selling weapons, evidentatthefailed submarine deal between Australia and France. The South China Sea is a part of the Indo-Pacific, spanning between China, the Philippines, Malaysia, andVietnam(clockwise).Theseaisrichinnatural oil and gas aswellasfishinggroundsand, hence,itisanimportantpassageforinternationaltrade, with a third of the global trade passing through the area, including high percentages of European trade. The EU anditsMemberStatesthushaveaninteresttokeeptheregionsafeandaccessible.Parts of the South China Sea are claimed by several countries, including China, Taiwan, Malaysia,Vietnam, Brunei,andthePhilippines,withChinaclaimingasmuchas80%ofthearea.

In recent months, the old conflict about Taiwan has grownmoreandmoreintense.Taiwan,officially the Republic of China (ROC), is an island off the coast of mainland China (PRC). The essence of the conflict is the factthat boththeROCandthePRCclaimtobethelegitimate“China” .WhilstTaiwan

has soened its claims over mainland China and the South China Sea and would rather be independent, China wants to reunite with Taiwan and threatens with a war, should Taiwan seek official independence. Due to Chinese pressure, Taiwan is not recognised by most countries and is replaced by China in international organisations like the United Nations (UN) or the World Health Organisation (WHO). MostcountriesdonothaveformalrelationswithTaiwan,duetoChina'spressure, but still have strong ties through economic connections and arm deals. In the wake of China'srecent aggressions towards Taiwan, the United States have reaffirmed their commitment to defend Taiwan in the case of a Chinese invasion. When Lithuania established closer ties to Taiwan in 2021, ChinacutofftradewithLithuaniainwhatisconsideredawarningtotherestofEurope.

In 1994, the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) took effect. The Convention gives a framework on the governance and rules oftheocean,forexamplethefreedomof navigation53 , which is especially important in the Indo-Pacific as it hosts major waterways for international trade. Freedom of Navigation is absolutely crucialforexportingcountries,likemany in the EU are, as it ensures that the export goods can be shipped efficiently and securely. To enforce the freedom of passage in international water, states conduct Freedom of Navigation Operationsto enforceUNCLOS.Intheseoperations,(military)shipssailthroughcontestedareasandareaswherethe freedom of navigation is attempted to be limited, to denounce these claims and underscore their status as international waters. Even with the US not having signed UNCLOS, they conduct several Freedom of Navigation Patrols annually, most of them in the South China Sea. Other countries that conductedFreedomofNavigationOperationsincludeFrance,theUK,andJapan.

Even if notasfirmastheFreedomofNavigationPatrols,navalpresenceingeneralcanbeameasureto pursue one's security interests. For instance, Germany sent a warship to the South China Sea to showpresenceandassertitsIndo-Pacificstrategy.

Trade

Angela Stanzel from the thinktank “European Council on Foreign Relations” suggests that the EU might be better at geo-economics than at geopolitics, and might profit from a paradigm shi in Asian politics away from classical security policy to using trade and economy as international policy tools. Even iftherisingmilitaryspendingsintheregionmightbeanindicatorforadifferentconclusion than a shi away from military competition, the EU has regularly used economic power for their geopolitical goals. With the Indo-Pacific being the second-largest importer of EU goodsandthetotal trade between the two regions accounting for EUR 1.5 trillion, trade policy with regard to the Indo-PacificisbothanecessityaswellasapowerfultoolintheEUʼsforeignpolicy.

One of themostimportanttoolsininternationaltradepolicyareFreeTradeAgreements(FTA).These trade pacts reduce trade barriers by reducing tariffs, quotas, etc. Currently the EU has trade

53 FreedomofNavigationisaconceptofinternationallawthatgrantsallshipsunrestrictedpassageinthehigh seas.

agreements in the region withJapan,SouthKorea,Vietnam,andSingaporeaswellaswantstofurther negotiate trade agreements with Australia, New Zealand, Indonesia, and India. With China, the EU negotiated a Comprehensive Agreement on Investment (CAI) which aims to reduce and level the investment barriers between the two economic areas. The European Parliament, however, has not ratified the agreement yet and voiced concerns about doing so. Furthermore, the EU has introduced the Generalised Scheme of Preferences (GSP) which reduces or completelyeliminatesthetariffsfor several countries in the Indo-Pacific. The EU also used the GSP to leverage countries to ratify 27 conventionsonhumanrights,labourrights,protectionoftheenvironment,andgoodgovernance.

Environment/Climate

Through the years, the Indo-Pacific region has seen extreme pollutionriseinvariousareas,whetherit isairorwaterpollution.Giventhefactthat4.3billionpeopleliveinthearea,thereisnodoubtwhythis happens. When it comes to gas and fossil-fuelsubsidiesemissionstheregionseemstobethegigantic domino of climate change with China, Japan, and India being the top three producers of Carbon Dioxide (CO2) emissions. According to the European Commission, the share of the region in global carbon dioxide emissions has grown from 37% to 57% since 2000, and the region will account for morethan70%ofgrowthinglobalenergydemandby2030.

As the region is home to a significant number of marine biodiversity hotspots such as the Coral Triangle, which accounts for 76% of the worldʼs coral species, or the South China Sea, which alone accounts for around 12% of the worldʼs fish catch, and hosts more than half of the worldʼs fishing vessels the problem of increased water pollution and the marine plastics crisisiscrucial.Countriesin East Asia and the Pacific are at the center of the marine plastics crisis - with some countries in the region representing the biggest contributors and others disproportionatelyaffectedbytheimpacts ofmarineplasticdebrisontheirshores.

Last but not least, according to the UN Environment Program, in 2015, themajorityofglobaldeaths from ambient (outdoor) air pollution-35%-occurredinEastAsiaandthePacific.About33%occurred inSouthAsia.

With a view to decrease both the environmental degradation caused by the emissions and the water pollution and the severe climate change effects, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) launched the ASEAN Regional Action Plan for Combating Marine Debris in the ASEAN Member States (2021 – 2025), which provides a scalable, solution-focused joint strategy to address marine plastic debrisacrosstheregion,giventhefactthatplasticisestimatedtoaccountfor80%ofallmarine debris in the oceans. In six of the ten ASEAN Member States alone, over 31 million tons of plastic wastewasgeneratedinayear.

Additionally,theEuropeanUnionaimstosigngreenpartnershipswiththebiggestemittingcountries (such as China, India and Japan, and urge themtomovetoamorecirculareconomy54 .Whenitcomes to ocean governance, the EU will take action towards strengthening the enforcement ofinternational environmental law in the Indo-Pacific, especially the UNCLOS, with the main objective to ensure the sustainablemanagementoftheoceanʼsresourcesandsafeguardingbiodiversity.

4. Furtherquestions

● How do you envision the role of the EU in the Indo-Pacific, especially in comparison to the approachesofothersuperpowerslikeChinaandtheUS? ● HowcantheEUuseitseconomicpowertopursueitsobjectivesintheregion? ● WhatstanceshouldtheEUtakewithrespecttomilitaryengagementintheregion? ● WhatstepsshouldtheEUtake toencourageinternationalenvironmentallawenforcement? ● HowcantheEUurgecountriesoftheIndo-Pacifictomovetoamore“circulareconomy”?

5. Oneforall,allforone

Among theMemberStates,FrancecanbeconsideredthebiggestplayerintheIndo-Pacific.Throughits several overseas territories in the region, France has a considerable presence given that 93% of its Exclusive Economic Arealiesinthearea.FrancewasoneofthefirstcountriesintheEUtoadoptthe notion of the Indo-Pacific as a geopolitical region. Because of its territories and ambitions, it established a considerable military presence in theregion.Themilitarypresencehasbeenregularly used for quick and comprehensive disaster relief aer natural catastrophes in the region. Furthermore, the French Development Agency (AFD) isactiveintheregionanditsmandateincludes support for the adaptationtoclimatechangeandprojectsinbiodiversity.ItalsoimplementstheKIWA initiative, a multi-donor initiative that is funded by France, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, and the European Union. Over the course of five years, financial resources are used in Indo-Pacific statesthat areespeciallyvulnerabletoclimatechange,forclimatechangeadaptationandbiodiversity.

6. Materialforfurtherresearch

EssentialEngagement

- HavealookatthisfactsheetbytheEuropeanCommissionontheirIndo-PacificStrategy - Readthisarticleonthe“Indo-PacificArmsRace”byDerSpiegel

54 A circular economy is "a model of production and consumption, which involves sharing, leasing, reusing, repairing, refurbishing and recycling existing materials and products as long as possible" that aims at tackling globalchallengeslikeclimatechange,biodiversityloss,waste,andpollution.

- LookatthisthisarticlebyTheGuardian - Watchthisveryinterestingvideoonthe(digital)connectivityofEuropeandtheIndo-Pacific - HaveareadofthisarticleonairpollutionbyTheDiplomat

AdditionalEngagement

- ThisarticlebytheBBCgivesagreatsummaryoftheTaiwanconflict - HereyoucanfindtheEUstrategyforcooperationintheIndo-Pacific - ThisvideofromDWabouttheconflictsintheIndo-Pacific

TopicOverviews//42ndNationalSelectionConferenceofEYPGreece Thessaloniki,17-20December'21|m:thessaloniki.nsc@eypgreece.org