Redefining Asia-Europe security in a multipolar world

Instead of symbolic gestures, the focus should shift to cooperation in domains such as AI and technology supply chains.

- Michael Raska

At this year's Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, French President Emmanuel Macron called for a "positive new alliance" between Asia and Europe - anchored in shared principles, strategic autonomy and practical cooperation - amid intensifying great power rivalries.

His message builds on the argument that Asia and Europe's security is increasingly interconnected - whether through the global repercussions of Russia's war in Ukraine, Chinese coercion in the South China Sea and Taiwan Strait, or the broader erosion of norms underpinning the international order.

Over the past decade, Europe's forays into the Indo-Pacific have largely sought to align with the United States in supporting a "free and open Indo-Pacific".

France and the United Kingdom have deployed naval task groups; Germany has sent frigates; and the European Union has launched its own Indo-Pacific strategy. These moves were part of a wider effort to demonstrate Europe's strategic presence and influence in the region.

Yet the reality has been more constrained.

Despite the rhetoric, European navies and air forces do not have sufficient resources and operational capacity to make a strategic difference in the Indo-Pacific. There is also a lack of political will. Most deployments have been symbolic, limited in duration and inherently stretching European capabilities.

Now, with the return of a more isolationist US administration prioritizing competition with China and questioning the utility of traditional alliances, the foundational logic of Europe's Indo-Pacific engagement is also under pressure. If Washington is no longer the glue binding transatlantic and transpacific interests, then what anchors Asia-Europe security cooperation?

In other words, the underlying security paradox on both sides is this: At a time when Europe's bandwidth for Indo-Pacific engagement is shrinking, Asia's demand for reliable and resilient partnerships is growing.