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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.

For the recent EUISS mini podcast series on China, click here.

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  • EU BUILDING
    20September 2022

    On 20 September, Alice Ekman participated in the 2022 edition of the Brussels Korea Forum, organized by the Korea Chair at the Brussels School of Governance.

  • Download Brief
    15September 2022
    Over the past two decades, China has emerged as a key trading partner for Latin America. This Brief shows how the asymmetric nature of the economic relationship between China and a large number of LAC countries enables Beijing to exert leverage over its partners, as it systematically expands its political influence in the region.
  • Download Brief
    12July 2022
    Almost a year on from the chaotic international military withdrawal from Kabul, this Brief draws on a series of roundtable consultations with senior Afghan and EU policymakers to analyse the EU’s role and engagement in Afghanistan over the past two decades.
  • Image of roundtable
    20June 2022

    This 5th session of the Strategic Dialogue brought together senior officials and experts to discuss the Russian aggression against Ukraine and analyse its implications for the security in Europe and the Indo-Pacific region.

  • Download document
    06May 2022
    The 'circle of friends' versus the Indo-Pacific strategy

    This Chaillot Paper identifies the tactics and strategy used by China to expand its circle of friends.

  • Download Brief
    05April 2022
    This Brief identifies a number of critical uncertainties upon which Afghanistan’s future trajectory hinges, and asks: what conditions would allow the Taliban regime to endure over the next five years, and under what conditions might they lose their hold on power?
  • Download Brief
    06October 2021
    In the past two years the Chinese government, which has long pursued a security-centred approach to data, has been defining its own data governance regime. This Brief aims to shed light on China’s approach to data governance and outlines the challenges that it presents for EU governments and companies, particularly with regard to the risk of data protectionism.
  • Download Brief
    13July 2021
    This Brief explores how China is actively developing and promoting an alternative, more centralised and controlled form of blockchain, as well as testing and launching its own digital currency.
  • EU and Republic of Korea flags  © Getty images via Canva pro
    17June 2021

    The Strategic Dialogue was organised by the EUISS in cooperation with the Institute of Foreign Affairs and National Security of the Korean National Diplomatic Academy (KNDA).

  • 26March 2021

    In this new miniseries we look at past expectations that turned out to be untrue and try to learn from past mistakes.

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  • Photo of EUISS podcast recording studio
    09January 2020

    The EUISS ‘What if’ podcast is a foreign policy foresight conversation: it looks at fictional scenarios that could happen between now and the end of 2021.

  • 14December 2018

    On 14 December 2018, the EUISS co-organised the EU-China Informal Security Dialogue in Beijing, together with the External Action Service (EEAS), the International College of Defence Studies (ICDS) of the China National Defence University and the Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies of the Renmin University of China (RDCY).

  • 26January 2018

    On 26 January 2018, the EUISS organised a public conference to present a report on Chinese and Russian defence industries and to discuss the issue of European arms exports to Asia.

  • 25January 2018

    On Thursday 25 January, the CSCAP EU Committee convened for its fifth annual meeting in Brussels. The Committee held a workshop on arms exports, defence markets, and new dynamics in EU-Asia relations.

  • 22November 2017

    The EUISS, the Centre for Internet & Society and the EU Delegation to India and Bhutan invited members of civil society to exchange views on cybersecurity capacity building in New Delhi.

  • 21September 2017

    The EUISS and the Institute of Foreign Affairs and National Security (IFANS) of the Korea National Diplomatic Academy (KNDA) held the 4th EU-ROK Strategic Dialogue on 21 September in Brussels.

  • 16June 2017

    On 16 June, with the support of the Permanent Representation of Belgium to the EU, the EUISS organised a seminar to analyse a series of issues in relation to the planning, conduct, and handover of EUPOL Afghanistan.

  • 28March 2017

    The third and final meeting of the 'Chinese Futures Task Force' focused on China as a global actor. The meeting discussed China’s engagement within the international system, namely its interactions with other global powers, its role in global governance, and the future of EU – China relations.

  • 15February 2017

    The second meeting of the 'Chinese Futures Task Force' looked into the drivers of China’s foreign and security policy in Asia.

  • 15December 2016

    The inaugural meeting of the 'Chinese Futures Task Force' focused on the evolution of China’s domestic political environment by the horizon of 2025.

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