Background

East Asia is a core part of the Indo-Pacific. In recent years, the region has experienced increasing security challenges posed by authoritarian regimes. An assertive China is reshaping the region's security order through its growing military build-up (including in space), intensified coercion of Taiwan, a two-pronged hybrid warfare strategy aimed at deterring US presence in the South China Sea and coercing competing claimants into abandoning their claims, and a strategy aimed at eroding Japan's control of the islands it administers in the East China Sea. North Korea, known for its appalling human rights record and malicious cyber activities, has developed nuclear and missile programmes that threaten the region's stability. Pyongyang openly supports Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine through the deployment of troops and the delivery of ammunition; Moscow reciprocates by backing Pyongyang's nuclear capabilities, with Beijing's endorsement, even though China's support to Moscow's war effort is more discreet.

North Korea's support for Russia's invasion of Ukraine adds to the increasingly complex security challenges the EU must face. More broadly, peace and stability in East Asia are essential to the EU's security. Furthermore, freedom of navigation in the Taiwan Strait is a key condition for maintaining international trade flows, investment certainty and the functioning of global supply chains.

The EU and East Asia

The EU has a strategy for cooperation in the Indo-Pacific. It works with like-minded partners in the region: Japan and Korea are strategic partners. The EU has a strategic partnership agreement (SPA) and an economic partnership agreement (EPA) with Japan, and a free trade agreement (FTA) and a digital trade agreement with Korea. The EU has security and defence partnerships with both Japan and Korea. The 11-member ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) is also an EU strategic partner. ASEAN engages with its dialogue partners through various regional formats, including ASEAN Plus Three (China, Japan and Korea) and the annual East Asia Summit. Though the EU adheres to a one-China policy, it engages with Taiwan in a number of policy areas.

European Parliament position

The draft recommendation prepared by the Foreign Affairs Committee affirms the need to deepen cooperation with like-minded partners, to address common challenges (including in the military-industrial sector), while continuing to engage pragmatically with China on global challenges. In particular, Parliament recommends: establishing a dedicated structured and comprehensive EU–Taiwan cooperation framework; continuing support for Taiwan's participation in relevant international bodies and technical fora; exploring the prospects for negotiations on an EU-Taiwan bilateral investment agreement; and actively engaging in diplomatic efforts to prevent further escalation in the Taiwan Strait and the East and South China Seas. Parliament also recalls the need to respect freedom of navigation and overflight in the Indo-Pacific as guaranteed by international law. Finally, the EU should strengthen its engagement with key regional security initiatives, including the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad) between the US, Australia, India and Japan.

Own-initiative report: 2025/2169(INI); Committee responsible: AFET; Rapporteur: Adam Bielan (ECR, Poland).