In Stockholm, EU promises to invest more in Indo-Pacific, pledges to cut reliance on China

In a bid to expand its footprint in the Indo-Pacific, the European Union (EU) is offering closer political and investment ties to around 20 countries in the region.

The move comes as the bloc seeks more influence in the hotly-contested region, where China, India and the US have high stakes.

The announcement was made at a gathering of foreign ministers of the EU and the Indo-Pacific in Stockholm on Saturday, during which the speakers mooted a Global Gateway programme— Europe’s answer to China’s multi-billion-dollar Belt and Road Initiative, reported Bloomberg.

Among the countries from the Indo-Pacific region that participated in the forum were India, Japan and Indonesia. The meeting was called on Saturday and noticeably, Beijing wasn’t invited.

“Our ambition is to work toward the preservation of the Indo-Pacific as a free, open, prosperous and inclusive region and to build partnerships between equals,” French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna said in a speech.

The EU “refuses to enter a logic of blocs that would make escalation and, eventually, confrontation, inevitable,” she said.

'Indian Ocean is the core constituent of the Indo-Pacific', says S Jaishankar 

During the meeting, India’s foreign minister S Jaishankar agreed that Europe has a stake in Indo-Pacific developments, and added that India will work together with the EU in the coming years.

“Globalization is the overwhelming reality of our times. However, far apart, regions and nations cannot be impervious to significant events elsewhere. Nor can we cherry-pick them to our convenience. The European Union has major stakes in Indo-Pacific developments, especially as they pertain to technology, connectivity, trade and finance," Jaishankar said.

In such an engagement with the Indo-Pacific, the EU will naturally seek like-minded partners. India is certainly among them. There may be historical and cultural divergences but at the end of the day, we are political democracies, market economies and pluralistic societies. Transformations underway in India, like digital public delivery or green growth initiatives, certainly merit EU’s attention. India is also rapidly expanding its global footprint and will intersect with that of the EU more in the coming years," he said.

The renewed push to focus on Indo-Pacific comes almost two years after France influenced the EU to adopt a common strategy for the region in 2021.

Last year, President Emanuel Macron hosted an EU summit to discuss cooperation with the region, two days before Russia’s invasion.

The EU late last year signed a partnership agreement with Thailand to foster a bilateral dialog on energy, climate change and other issues.

EU backs plan to reduce reliance on China

It comes at a time when the EU has been looking to break its reliance on Beijing ever since Chinese President Xi Jinping declared a “no limits” friendship with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

After Saturday’s forum, EU’s foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell said the bloc wants “to step up our engagement to deliver more concrete results on the ground.”

He said that the EU will pursue 20 Global Gateway projects in the Indo-Pacific “from investment in hydropower, solar energy plants to transportation infrastructure, railways, ports and airports.”

Borrell said that EU foreign ministers have backed a proposal reducing the bloc's economic dependence on China, but added that they are still figuring on how to implement it.

"Colleagues welcomed the paper that we presented. They agree on the basic lines of this re-calibration of our strategy on China," Borrell told reporters after their meeting in Stockholm.

"When a dependency is too big, it's a risk," he added.

(With inputs from agencies)

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