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[Discourse] EU looks for common interest in Indo-Pacific: Envoy
The Jakarta Post’s Dian Septiari spoke with EU Ambassador to Indonesia Vincent Piket about the bloc's recently announced Indo-Pacific strategy, as well as other bilateral and regional issues.
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EU Ambassador to Indonesia Vincent Piket. (Handout/Delegation of the European Union to Indonesia and Brunei Darussalam)
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em>On April 19, the European Council adopted a new strategy for its actions in the Indo-Pacific, reinforcing the European Union’s efforts to boost its presence in the region. The Jakarta Post’s Dian Septiari spoke with EU Ambassador to Indonesia Vincent Piket about the strategy, as well as other bilateral and regional issues. The following are excerpts of the interview.
Question: The EU has formulated a strategy on the Indo-Pacific even though the bloc is far away from the region. What is the strategy’s main focus?
Answer: We are far away but close at the same time. We are heavily connected with Asia through economy, trade, technology and people-to-people connections. Therefore, we have a major interest in the trade routes that connect Asia with Europe. The EU is the second-largest single trading partner of ASEAN, only after China, and also the biggest investment partner of the Southeast Asian bloc.
We need to look to the future, when Asia – China, India, Indonesia and ASEAN as a whole – will continue to grow fast. As Europeans, we need to recognize that Asia will be, or already is, the biggest economic bloc or region in the world. We want to connect with Asia, with Indo-Pacific to support that positive growth. We also like to engage with the region on positive policies and areas that affect us in a very open manner, such as the climate and green agenda, as well as data and cyber protection.
It’s important that our approach is inclusive to build partnership and cooperation with all countries in the areas where we can find common interest, rather than excluding and being against anybody. ASEAN has also been our top priority and strong focus.
Read also: Japan has 'strong concerns' over China's military in diplomacy report
Many Indo-Pacific strategies emphasize great power rivalries between the United States and China. How is the EU going to position itself on this issue?
