Strategic partnership in the Indo-Pacific: MEPs to visit South Korea and Japan

A delegation from the Subcommittee on Security and Defence, led by Vice-Chair Lukas Mandl, (EPP, AT), will visit South Korea and Japan on 19-21 December.

Security and Defence Subcommittee Vice-Chair Lukas Mandl, (EPP, AT), will lead the delegation. Members of the delegation are: Željana Zovko (EPP, CR), Sven Simon (EPP, DE), Christel Schaldemose (S&D, DK), Dragoş Tudorache (RE, RO), Jaak Madison (ID, TE), Anna Fotyga (ECR, PL), and Fabio Massimo Castaldo (NI, IT).

China’s increasingly aggressive behaviour in the Indo-Pacific as well as the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea’s (DPRK) threats and recent firing of missiles provide the context of the visit.
The ties between China and Russia, at war in Europe’s immediate neighbourhood, stress the need for improving alliances in the Indo-Pacific area.
Now more than ever, the EU needs to strengthen partnerships with liked-minded countries in the Indo-Pacific to preserve our shared values.

The MEPs programme includes meetings with high-level interlocutors in the field of Security and Defence, including South Korean Minister of Defence Lee Jong-sup ; Special Representative for Korean Peninsula peace and security affairs, Kim Gunn ; Coordinator for Indo-Pacific Strategy Lim Sangwoo ; Members of the South Korean National Defence Committee ; and in Japan, Special Advisor to the Prime Minister, Nobuo Kishi ; Parliamentary Vice-Minister of Defence, Jiro Kimura, Members of House of Councillors ; as well as representatives of Defence industry.

Background

The EU is stepping up its strategic engagement with the Indo-Pacific region to play greater role in upholding its values and interests in this region of growing geopolitical and economic importance. Two key documents which underline the intensifying of relations are the EU Strategy for Cooperation in the Indo-Pacific and the EU Strategic Compass

South Korea and Japan are two of the EU’s longstanding strategic partners in the Indo-Pacific, sharing the same values and principles. In the current dire security context, both South Korea and Japan are eager to further deepen their bilateral cooperation on security and defence issues with the EU, in particular in areas of disarmament and non-proliferation, maritime security and cybersecurity, while promoting an open, stable and rules-based regional security architecture.

Further information

Subcommittee on Security and Defence 

Press release – Indo-Pacific: a region of key strategic significance for the EU (07/06/2022) 

European Parliament resolution of 7 June 2022 on the EU and the security challenges in the Indo-Pacific 

EU strategy for cooperation in the Indo-Pacific ( EEAS) 

EU Strategic Compass (EEAS)