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Asia

Over the last decade, the global economic and strategic balance has been shifting eastwards. Asia is the largest and the most populous continent, with China and India alone already accounting for one-third of the global population. Asia is home to some of the world’s most dynamic and fastest growing economies, but also to some most complex security hotspots. From tensions on the Korean Peninsula to maritime territorial disputes in the East and South China Seas, there are a number of issues which have the potential to spark more serious conflict. The rise of China is affecting the balance of power in the region, and has resulted in increased competition with the US for influence. This is also increasingly visible in the Indian Ocean, which has become a new theatre of strategic competition between China and India. While there are various multilateral cooperative mechanisms in the region, such as the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) or the East Asia Summit, their capacity to address such security issues remains limited.

As a key trading partner of many Asian economies, the EU has a major stake in regional stability, as well as in the security of its Sea Lanes of Communication. Since announcing its ‘pivot to Asia’ in 2012, Brussels has been trying to step up its security role in Asia by boosting cooperation with its various Strategic Partners, as well as through existing multilateral fora. The EUISS has been working to support these efforts by providing relevant expertise and analysis and conducting research in domains that have the potential to enhance regional stability and raise the EU’s security profile. Key areas of focus are maritime security and governance, preventive diplomacy, confidence and capacity building, crisis prevention, multilateralism, regional integration and institution building.

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    21February 2014
    Afghanistan: the view from Pakistan
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    This alert takes a closer look at the fraught and controversial ties between Afghanistan and its immediate neighbour to the east. How can these countries transcend the dominance of the security dimension underpinning their historical relationship that has had unintended – and deadly – consequences for both?

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    07February 2014
    Afghanistan: the view from Russia
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    The third in a series of EUISS Alerts focusing on the prospects for Afghanistan in 2014, this Alert evaluates Russia’s current policy towards Afghanistan and how it may evolve in the future. In particular, it shows that Russia’s overall approach is still mainly determined by issues relating to America’s military presence there rather than by its bilateral relations with Kabul.

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    30January 2014
    Horizon 2014: Central Asia
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    The countries of Central Asia face a multitude of security challenges ranging from rising ethnic tensions to widespread corruption. This alert provides an overview of the major trends in a vital region which is all too often overlooked.

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    24January 2014
    Afghanistan: the view from China
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    The second in a series of EUISS alerts examining the future of Afghanistan, this alert digs deeper into the political and economic ties that bind Afghanistan and China. How can the Asian giant now contribute to the future stability of the volatile country?

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    17January 2014
    Japan’s new approach to national security
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    In the light of Japan’s recently unveiled National Security Strategy (NSS), this brief examines how the country’s security and defence policy is evolving in response to a changing security environment. The country’s new national security doctrine is driven by a strong perception of a shifting balance of power at the global level as well as an acute awareness of regional challenges and in particular the need to protect the nation’s maritime interests.

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    10January 2014
    Afghanistan: the view from India
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    The first EUISS alert of 2014 explores the deepening bilateral relationship between India and Afghanistan. But given long-standing regional tensions and suspicions, what role is there for South Asia's dominant power in supporting a post-transition Afghanistan?

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    10January 2014
    Quenching India’s thirst for energy
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    With India struggling to meet its domestic energy demands, the country is now engaging in a more active – and more overt – form of energy diplomacy. What challenges face the rising giant in pursuit of this strategy, and how will it reconcile development goals with climate change concerns in a region that continues to suffer from a lack of integration?

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    10January 2014
    Bangladeshi elections: the last woman standing
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    The recent elections in Bangladesh and their accompanying turmoil has lain bare the extent to which the two most powerful political dynasties are splitting the country. Can Bangladesh’s battling ‘begums’ now be convinced to put their differences aside in order to overcome the paralysing political stalemate?

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    29November 2013
    BRICS – what’s in a name?
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    This brief analyses what impact the five BRICS countries are likely to have in global politics in the years to come, and what future trajectory the grouping might take. The BRICS ‘club’ may or may not last – in its present or another formation – but its rise is a wake-up call for the EU to deepen its bilateral relations with individual BRICS and possibly reconsider its own position in the emerging system of global governance.

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    15November 2013
    The EU and Japan: making the most of each other
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    This alert examines how the relationship between the EU and Japan has evolved significantly over the past two decades. It highlights how a more comprehensive partnership – going beyond trade and investment – is something that is now sought by both sides, particularly in the sphere of political and security cooperation.

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    01December 2006
    Facing China's rise: guidelines for an EU strategy
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    With its booming economy, China is emerging as the key player in Asia-Pacific and possibly as the world’s next superpower.

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    19October 2006
    North Korea goes nuclear: global reactions and the EU
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    Following its underground test on 9 October, carried out in defiance of international warnings, it is probable that North Korea has become the world’s ninth nuclear power. Whilst there were initially some doubts as to the strength or the exact nature of the detonation the presence of radioactive particles in North Korea has been now confirmed by US spy planes as well as by neighbouring Russia and Japan.

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    01October 2006
    The evolution of the EU-China relationship: from constructive engagement to strategic partnership
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    This study traces the evolution of EU-China relations over the past three decades.

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    01December 2005
    ESDP Newsletter No. 1
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    Historically speaking, security and defence are late arrivals on the European agenda. But like all young things, the European security and defence policy is growing fast. We have put in place the necessary decision-making structures and launched a process to enhance European capabilities, which has been given fresh impetus with the creation of the European Defence Agency.

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    01December 2005
    The EU mission in Aceh: implementing peace
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    The EU Monitoring Mission in Aceh (AMM), Indonesia, marks a new step on the path of the Union to becoming a global player. Endowed with a robust mandate including monitoring demobilisation, the decommissioning of arms, the withdrawal of government forces, the reintegration of former combatants and the launch of a new political process, this new ESDP mission has so far provided an effective contribution in ending years of fighting and paving the way to sustainable peace.

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    01October 2005
    US China Policy: Implications for the EU
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    The rapid modernisation of the People's Liberation Army, Beijing's increasingly threatening stance vis-à-vis Taiwan and its demand for energy are the main factors driving America's preoccupation with China. All sectors of opinion in the US criticised the EU's declared intention to lift its embargo on arms exports to China. This policy was misunderstood and its implications exaggerated.

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    01October 2005
    La Chine en Afrique : Anatomie d'une nouvelle stratégie chinoise
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    En 2004, 20% des minerais extraits sur le continent africain ont été exportés vers la Chine ; 20% des importations chinoises de pétrole proviennent désormais des pays d'Afrique sub-saharienne. Bien que la Chine ne réalise que 2,4% de son commerce extérieur en biens manufacturés avec l'Afrique, de nouveaux types d'exportations chinoises - avec des produits à plus forte valeur ajoutée - sont apparus ces dernières années vers les pays africains : en l'espace de quatre ans, le volume des échanges a été multiplié par trois entre la Chine et l'Afrique sub-saharienne.

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    01June 2005
    L'évolution stratégique du Japon : un enjeu pour l'Union
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    Pays atypique par sa modernité précoce, sa grandeur économique, sa relation de sécurité avec les Etats-Unis - unique dans sa définition et dans sa portée -, enfin par sa Loi fondamentale, unique également dans le pacifisme institutionnel qu’elle scelle, le Japon réunit tous les paradoxes.

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    01December 2004
    Afghanistan : la difficile reconstruction d'un Etat
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    L'intervention militaire en Afghanistan d'octobre 2001 a été déterminée uniquement par les attentats du 11 septembre. L'Etat ne peut se reconstruire qu'à partir de la culture politique afghane : il faut pour cela inscrire les réformes dans un cadre idéologiquement légitime (nationalisme, islam), tout en s'adaptant à l'anthropologie politique de l'Afghanistan, où notables et groupes de solidarité locaux jouent un rôle plus important que les grandes tribus ou les ethnies.

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    01April 2003
    Rebuilding
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    Could it be that Europeans, like Americans, believe that from now on ‘the mission determines the coalition, and not the other way round’? That was the new American strategic dogma established as transatlantic doctrine by Donald Rumsfeld after the 11 September attacks.

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