Throughout 2021, it was clear to all external actors that the EU was set to produce a strategy for cooperation in the Indo-Pacific. After initial Council of the EU Conclusions on 19 April 2021 that set out the main parameters for EU engagement, the European Commission and High Representative set about refining how the EU would boost its presence in the Indo-Pacific region. This was by no means a simple task as only France, Germany and theNetherlands had articulated national positions or strategies on the Indo-Pacific. Indeed, it was not clear how far other EU Member States would buy-in to the process. In this respect, the EU strategy had to stimulate a genuinely EU-wide common interest in the Indo-Pacific and avoid ‘free-riding’ on the backs of those European states with an existing presence in the region.
CSCAP, Regional Security Outlook 2022
Daniel Fiott 