![]() This will not only endanger trade and investments in Southeast Asia, but also in other lucrative markets, such as Japan and South Korea. Critically, ASEAN members are collectively the third largest trading partner for the EU – €189 billion euros in 2020 – and most of this trade is carried by sea.įlags at European Commission building, Brussels ( TeaMeister/Flickr)Įuropean nations fear that China’s growing naval power and assertiveness may eventually compromise freedom of navigation in the South China Sea. The EU is the largest foreign investor in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations members, with stocks amounting in 2019 to more than €313.6 billion. ![]() The document echoed most of the concerns expressed by the United States and its regional allies, such as Australia and Japan, in opposing China’s assertive claims. Beijing, notably, has not recognised the ruling.Īlso in April, the Council of the European Union, which convenes the foreign ministers of the organisation, approved an EU Strategy for Cooperation in the Indo-Pacific. The EU statement went on to warn against “any unilateral actions that could undermine regional stability and the international rules-based order” and called for “all parties” to abide by the 2016 ruling by the Permanent Court of Arbitration that dismissed most of China’s claims. This growing involvement by the navies of Europe in the South China Sea could, ironically, help energise trans-Atlantic ties with the United States. While China is growing more powerful militarily and economically, it is growing weaker diplomatically and politically. The result of Beijing’s aggressive behaviour is leading to its growing isolation in the region and well beyond. In April this year, the 27 European Union member states issued a statement declaring tensions in the South China Sea “endanger peace and stability in the region”.Įurope’s attitude shift on the South China Sea underscores a change, which, although not sudden, is nonetheless remarkable when compared with a less-distant past of barely a decade ago. As China grows more assertive in the South China Sea with its sweeping “nine dash line” claim, building artificial islands and harassing its neighbours, European capitals have reconsidered their strategy.Įurope, at least the continental countries, had for the most part adopted a neutral stance towards the South China Sea dispute, siding with neither China nor the claimants of Southeast Asia. ![]() However, in recent years Europe’s warships have become more visible in the region again. ![]() Long years have passed since the days in which European navies played a major role in the seas of Asia. In the 16th century the Portuguese were the first Europeans to navigate the South China Sea and lay eyes upon the thousands of islands and reefs that lay in these waters. ![]()
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