Lagging EU should boost its effort, visibility in Asia

China recently embarked on a new journey to expand its economic and diplomatic ties worldwide with its Silk Road economic belt. And we should not forget its creation of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) that already encompasses 57 prospective founding members from Asia and Europe and other continents. 

This is also a challenge to Western political and economic order. 

The US, for its part, also intensified its relationship – be it political, military or economic – with its Asian partners in order to gain more ground in the region vis-a-vis China. This is not to forget other major powers in the region such as India, Japan, and South Korea, who also have an active engagement with their partners from Asia.

The EU, however, has often been perceived as a political dwarf. Its external action or capacity to be an autonomous actor itself is less when compared to the US and the other major powers. That is the reason why the last ASEM symposium – Asia-Europe Meeting – held in Bangkok in March was very much focused on thinking about the future direction of ASEM. In other words, thinking the European Union’s role in Asia. 

A speaker at the symposium said the EU should play a role in contributing to the international political and economic order. This implied that an equilibrium of relations between the EU, the US and China was crucial for the stability of the region amid power plays by major powers. Therefore, ASEM could see a window of opportunity for the EU to increase its visibility in the region and beyond. 

Given the multipolar nature of international relations, albeit with the US wielding political and military supremacy, there is a real need for major powers to have a well-balanced strategic partnership in this region. 

ASEM as a platform that encompasses a broad range of important international actors from two continents should turn itself into a crossroads of influence and create real impact at the international level. 

Next year, the EU and its Asian partners will celebrate the 20th anniversary of the informal multilateral forum ASEM in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. However, the EU seems to lack motivation to work with its Asian partners. First, this may be due to the size of its membership – 51 countries and 2 regional organisations, which is a size that may not allow ASEM to come up with concrete and actionable plans due to the diverse interests of all stakeholders.

Second, the EU’s concept of economic integration has become a double-edged sword, making it difficult for the EU to have an active engagement with outsiders due to the benefits gained from its integrated economy. 

However, the European debt crisis is another factor that preoccupies the EU’s leadership at the moment. 

Last but not least, the proactive role of China at the international level and establishment of the AIIB have opened opportunities for many countries in the EU to directly engage with the Asian giant – without going through a complex process of negotiation within the ASEM framework. 

Since its advent in 1996, ASEM has always been an informal platform for dialogue, trying to work on multi-dimensional issues, ranging from politico-economic to socio-cultural issues. 

At the moment, ASEM is working on finding common ground on issues relating to global challenge – the global economy and competitiveness, as well as establishing dialogue among business and private sectors. 

Nevertheless, the effort to merge differences between all stakeholders seems to be far from achieving its goal. 

Perhaps in a year from now, the Europeans need a deep soul-searching to find out how to make the ASEM more effective to yield good results for economic and political interplay between the two huge regions.