EU announces new Indo-Pacific strategy

Brussels, Sep 17 The European Union (EU) has unveiled a new strategy for enhancing its economic, political and defence existence in the Indo-Pacific region, vowing to cooperate with all members in the region without seeking confrontation.

According to the adopted Joint Communication on the EU Strategy for Cooperation in the Indo-Pacific, the Indo-Pacific region's growing economic, demographic, and political weight makes it a key player in shaping the international order and in addressing global challenges, Xinhua news agency reported.

The EU intends to increase its engagement with the region to build partnerships that reinforce the rules-based international order, address global challenges and lay the foundations for a rapid, just and sustainable economic recovery that creates long-term prosperity.

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell told a press conference on Thursday that the bloc will seek no confrontation but cooperation with everybody, and the strategy is inclusive to all actors in the region.

Borrell said in a statement issued later that "the world's centre of gravity is moving towards the Indo Pacific, both in geo-economic and geo-political terms. The futures of the EU and the Indo-Pacific are interlinked".

"Our engagement aims at maintaining a free and open Indo-Pacific for all, while building strong and lasting partnerships to cooperate on matters from the green transition, ocean governance or the digital agenda to security and defence," he said.