India-EU ties and the Indo-Pacific region
Recent developments like the Joint Communication by the European Commission (EC) criticism of China for spreading disinformation around Covid-19; the European Union’s(EU) concerns over the Chinese imposition of the new national security law in Hong Kong together with the non-binding recommendations released by the EC on the role of ‘high risk’ vendors in 5G networks has undoubtedly raised tensions between EU and China. Along with this, the new interest shown by key European players like France and Germany on the Indo-Pacific region has raised some Chinese scepticism around its efficacy, primarily because of the absence of European hard power. Preventing militarism in the region was anyway regarded to be more fundamental by the Indo-Pacific countries than furthering it. What might actually be more interesting to the Indian eye are the strategic implications of European countries on actively shaping and contributing towards the international order in the Indo-Pacific on Indian regional policy discourse. How and why should India make the best out of these developments to maximise its leverage in the regional security architecture of the Indo-Pacific region?
The Indo-Pacific region is no more a concept in construct. For the purpose of expanding regional cooperation and strengthening stability, amidst China flexing its muscles in the region, countries like India, the US, Vietnam, Japan, New Zealand and Australia had come out with their own versions on the Indo-Pacific with some degree of convergence on values and perspective on governance. This has helped to further some sort of regional integration and acquire a sense of security which has become indispensable given the fact that geopolitical changes are the only constant reality. The entry of European countries in the Indo-Pacific realm has arisen because of this need to consolidate ties with the countries in the two oceans, while ensuring support for an inclusive global governance and standing for a free and fair rules-based international order. With France, and now Germany, setting out their individual strategies on cooperation in the Indo-Pacific, India can find several opportunities to enhance cooperation with European countries while pursuing the goal of regional unity. For a start, India’s relations with individual member countries of the European Union (EU) like France and Germany have been dynamic and covers different facets of cooperation.
The launching of French and German Indo-Pacific strategies gives a boost to the already close bilateral relations with India, considering that Paris views India as one of the ‘primary’ Indo-Pacific partners with whom it strives to implement its ‘strategic partnership’ and Berlin expressed its willingness to participate in dialogue and institutional mechanisms like Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi Sectoral and Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC), and Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA). Most importantly, it gives India a chance to bring key European countries within the Indo-Pacific domain, strengthening maritime security and safety amidst unprecedented challenges in the region. At a time when political pundits pointed out that Asian regionalism was found to have taken a backseat after India’s decision to opt out of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) and Iran shelving India out of the peripheral projects around Chabahar project, reaffirming ties with European countries on an area of where mutual interests lie, seems to have provided some relief towards affirming regional solidarity, if not posing as an alternative to that. Notwithstanding the fact that while it is too early to state, a well pronounced common EU strategy on the Indo-Pacific can also help in reviving greater connectivity with Europe, which was to happen as an offshoot of the Chabahar project. Whether India and Iran can manage to review the cooperation under the Chabahar project is a matter of the future and development of India-EU relations should anyway not hinge on that. Growth and expansion of ties between India and EU rests on the capacity of the two sides to work on mutual interests, challenges and opportunities while simultaneously striving to sort out unresolved issues between them. The Indo-Pacific region offers a classic field where both sides can engage meaningfully to advance a shared responsibility to cherish the values of multilateralism and register their commitment to the security of the Indo-Pacific.
For countries in Europe, cooperating with Indo-Pacific countries serves their purpose as well, from the trade, investment and economic point of view along with ensuring maritime safety. Above all, the growing economic and strategic significance of the region has invited the European attention. As key powers in the continent, France and Germany also want to stay active in a relevant geopolitical theatre by shifting their narrative from the Atlantic to the Pacific. Apart from territories and population, France also has 90 per cent of its Exclusive Economic Zones in the Indo-Pacific region. Its move to join the Indo-Pacific league stems from the need to protect its overseas territories in the Indian and Pacific Oceans from the Chinese. Besides, the Indo-Pacific construct also brings the three applicants for United Nations Security Council (UNSC) membership, namely Germany, India and Japan together on the basis of their aspiration. The possibility of an expanded version of Quad is likely to get strengthened with the inclusion of European powers. This would ensure mutual benefits for protecting national as well as multilateral interests of countries involved.
India can also very well influence the EU to come out with an Indo-Pacific strategy, though it might seem to be difficult given the fact that a consolidated opinion across member countries on the region might not invite the same sort of convergence. However, multilateral platforms like Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) have brought together countries of Asia and Europe in the past to assess latest developments on regional and global level and to discuss scope and challenges for ASEM cooperation. This can be bolstered further by the EU with an Indo-Pacific strategy which can also give Europe a chance to reassess its relations with China, given the fact that latest developments point out that relations have strained between them.
When it comes to China and its response to the growing European interests in the Indo-Pacific, it is not going to get intimidated by Europe’s presence in the region very soon because of the fact that Europe does not have an independent military strength and still relies on the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) for military security. Having said that, it is undeniable that China’s suspicious activities surrounding Covid-19 and the 5G network, the stringency imposed in Hong Kong together with excessive militarization in the South China Sea has not got unnoticed with the key European countries who have been champions of transparency, human rights and peaceful development. In such a context, regional consolidation on values and upholding the principles of a rules-based order is meant to be a soft pressure tactic to keep Chinese militaristic ambitions in check and prevent it from laying out its hegemony over the region. Thus, within the context of the broader Indo-Pacific region, a certain kind of bandwagoning by European countries to ‘join the league’ of the Indo-Pacific will be beneficial for promoting India’s national and regional interests.
Pic courtesy-Kyle Glenn at unsplash.com
(Dr. Sanghamitra Sarma is an independent strategic analyst and former Research Fellow, Indian Council of World Affairs, New Delhi. The views expressed are personal.)