COMMENTARY
But it’s far from the black-and-white picture painted
Summer 2009
Jing Men is certainly right when she says that East Asia is becoming increasingly important to the EU. Trade, or more precisely trade interdependence, is certainly a major driver, although Europeans also know that success in our efforts to face up to climate change, the financial crisis, weapons proliferation and a host of other global issues will depend critically on forging effective alliances with the region.
It is the case that given geography, history and its network of alliances and military presence, the U.S. has a particular role to play in the security of East Asia. Jing Men contrasts this with the EU’s lower ‘hard power’ profile, and implies that as a result Europe lacks influence. But black and white pictures seldom do justice to reality.
Recent developments have shown that the EU can make a significant contribution to regional stability, even if its force projection remains limited. An obvious example is that of Aceh, where a dangerous conflict close to one of world’s most important sea-lanes was largely resolved through a partnership of Indonesia, ASEAN and the EU. The EU played the role of honest broker there, combining its strengths in security, democratisation and development in the Aceh Monitoring Mission. And we stay engaged in Aceh. This is neither hard nor soft; it is ‘smart’.
Yes, East Asia is one of the most dynamic regions of the world. But it is also one of the least integrated. Knowing the dangers inherent for their security and development, East Asian countries have been struggling for years to find ways of better managing their common space. ASEAN remains the best example of this and the EU, in addition to its longstanding financial and technical support, provided inspiration for their new charter, which should help to spur integration there.
And the EU is reaching out to the region in other ways: it has established strategic dialogues with China, the U.S. and Japan and has expressed its intention to accede to the Treaty on Amity and Cooperation which underpins the East Asia summit process, where the EU wishes to become an observer. Last October’s Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) summit enabled us to make common cause in dealing with the financial crisis. Europe has been consistently and publicly supportive of the six-party talks on North Korea and the cross-strait dialogue between China and Taiwan. The EU remains a major aid donor to those countries fighting poverty, and it funds conflict resolution efforts in many countries of the region.
The EU is negotiating a number of new generation partnership agreements with China, South Korea and ASEAN countries, and FTA’s with the latter two. The partnership accords include common commitments on security issues, like non-proliferation and counter-terrorism.
Last autumn’s postponement by Beijing of the EU-China summit was certainly a setback, but both sides have moved to put this behind them. China’s Prime Minister Wen Jiabao came to Brussels in January for talks with the Commission’s President José Manuel Barroso, and the summit was rescheduled to take place under the Czech presidency. Then there will be a further encounter in Beijing before the end of the year. And that is as it should be; we may have our differences on such matters such as human rights, but the EU and China need each other as never before. The financial crisis has given both sides a sharp reminder of just how interdependent we have become.
None of this is to deny that the EU should speak more effectively and with one voice when dealing with the region. And while complementarity with the U.S. and other partners is clearly important, Europe needs to reflect more on its own security involvement there. It’s very much on the agenda.
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