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EU wants to have maritime presence in South China Sea
The EU is formulating its own Indo-Pacific strategy focusing on the region straddling between the Indian and Pacific Ocean, after several EU member states had already done so at the national level.
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Philippine Coast Guard personnel hold a maritime exercise near Thitu Island in the disputed South China Sea on April 25. (AFP/Handout)
T
he European Union plans to have a stronger maritime presence in the South China Sea as it has sought to set its own Indo-Pacific strategy, its top diplomat recently said.
The EU's foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, said the EU was discussing the possibility of engaging in common exercises in the South China Sea, while at the same time offered ASEAN countries, in particular Indonesia, to participate in developing the EU's Strategic Compass.
He said European navies were not very much present in the South China Sea, having focused more on the Mediterranean Sea, Persian Gulf and the Coast of Africa.
“But more and more we are going to start showing a stronger presence because 40 percent of our trade passes through the [South China] Sea and it's the kind of aorta vein for us. So more and more you will see increased European maritime presence in Indo-Pacific,” he said in a recent interview in Jakarta.
The Indo-Pacific concept is a strategic reimagining of the Asia-Pacific region that is interpreted differently by different countries and interests. The United States aims to take the focus away from China and its increasing influence in the wider region.
The resource rich South China Sea has emerged as one of the arenas of US-China strategic competition. China's increased military presence and frequent incursions in several Southeast Asian countries' territories has stoked tensions and heightened concerns that China is gaining effective control of the body of waters.
The EU is formulating its own Indo-Pacific strategy focusing on the region straddling between the Indian and Pacific Ocean, after several EU member states had already done so at the national level.
