Connecting Distant Geographies: The EU in the Indo-Pacific

The Indo-Pacific region is home to 60 percent of the world population [1] and is where some of the world’s busiest marine trade routes are located; [2] it is therefore a robust market for economic partnerships. In recent years, the region has attracted increasing attention for a number of reasons, foremost among them the rise of China. Other reasons include non-traditional security threats such as climate change, the regulation of digitisation, and cybersecurity. Those who have stakes in the Indo-Pacific are either participant countries, [a] comprising those that are within the geographical space; or else external countries who are either already engaged with or are keen to engage with the region to promote their own strategic and economic interests.