Tag Archives: East Asia

January 29, 2013 · 12:06 pm

European External Action’s David O’Sullivan to explain “Priorities for EU Diplomacy in East Asia”

David-OSullivan

On 12 Feb, Tokyo’s GRIPS Forum will host David O’Sullivan, Chief Operating Officer of the European External Action Service, who will explain the priorities for EU Diplomacy in East Asia. Details here. 

The EU Delegation says this about it:

“East Asia is home to some of the world’s largest and fastest growing economies, and several of European Union’s biggest economic and trade partners. And yet, years after the emergence of first discourses on regional integration East Asia remains fragmented. While economic interconnectedness is increasingly felt between states in the region, as well as across regions, East Asia is unable to overcome deep-rooted historical legacies. China (together with Hong Kong and Macao), Taiwan, Japan, South Korea and ASEAN account for about 28% of EU’s global trade in goods and services and East Asia offers rapidly expanding market opportunities for EU member states. However, at the same time there is much at stake for Europe if security and stability of the region deteriorated due to territorial disputes. David O’Sullivan, Chief Operation Officer of the EEAS will come to share his perspective on what are the priorities of EU’s engagement with the East Asian region.”

12 February (Tue), 2013 16:40-17:40

Venue: GRIPS 1st Floor Sokairou Hall
Participation Fee: Free (prior registration required)
Language: English (with Japanese simultaneous interpretation)
Inquiries: gripsforum@grips.ac.jp

I have three questions that I would love David O’Sullivan to address: What is the EU prepared to do –

(i) to ease the tensions on the Korean peninsula?

(ii) to help with the peaceful resolution of the territorial disputes (between several E. Asian states)? and

(iii) to support the creation of the ASEAN Political Security Community (due 2015)?

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December 2, 2012 · 1:22 pm

Lindley-French’s Blog Blast: Speaking Truth Unto Power – NATO and Asian security connections.

Julian Lindley-French’s blog is always worth reading.

Regarding Europe’s position between the US and Asia, he had this to say recently:

“Within a decade all strategic relationships will have been transformed by the rise of Asia. Be it NATO membership and and its now plethora of partnerships they must all be seen in that context, i.e. part of a world-wide web of security partnerships. 
Why?  Because NATO’s true utility can only be defined once its place in American grand strategy has been established and that is a-changing.  Especially so as the more the Europeans cut defence the more reliant they are on the US.  Unfortunately, implicit in the ‘pivot’, the ‘rebalancing’, the ‘global Yank’ (shiver) or whatever one wants to call Washington’s potential zweifrontenskreig, a new strategic contract beckons between NATO and its erstwhile member America. That contract is essentially simple; NATO must take care of security for both members and partners in and around Europe to ease pressure on the US elsewhere. If not the American security guarantee will over time fade.”
An earlier entry on the China seas disputes is also well worth a read. JLF suggests that:
“[the]East China Sea dispute could in time be seen as the true beginning of a contest that will come to define the twenty-first century as much as the coming war between Iran and Israel; the struggle for power dominance in East Asia.”
I thought the two extracts make an interesting juxtaposition.

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