{"id":74768,"date":"2022-08-26T11:00:40","date_gmt":"2022-08-26T01:00:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/?p=74768"},"modified":"2022-08-26T10:49:53","modified_gmt":"2022-08-26T00:49:53","slug":"europes-rocky-relations-with-china-are-an-opportunity-for-australia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/europes-rocky-relations-with-china-are-an-opportunity-for-australia\/","title":{"rendered":"Europe\u2019s rocky relations with China are an opportunity for Australia"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/figure>\n

Missed by many amid Russia\u2019s war on Ukraine, Australia\u2019s federal election and China\u2019s inroads into the Pacific was the European Union\u2019s\u00a0strategic compass<\/a>, launched in March after almost two years of development.\u00a0As Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Richard Marles announces a visit to France, we should understand its importance\u2014and its significance for Australia\u2014and encourage its implementation.<\/p>\n

Much happened in\u00a0the past two years, including Covid-19, a deterioration in EU\u2013China relations and Russia\u2019s invasion of Ukraine. In this context, the strategic compass is a potential game-changer or, in the words of EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell, a \u2018turning point\u2019. It\u2019s the first time the 27 EU members have come together to focus on defence and security rather than just trade. France considers it a significant achievement of its role as chair of the EU Council.<\/p>\n

The strategic compass, which the EU Council\u00a0describes<\/a>\u00a0as \u2018an ambitious plan of action for strengthening the EU\u2019s security and defence policy by 2030\u2019, launched in a \u2018more hostile security environment\u2019. It is aimed not only at empowering the bloc\u2019s strategic autonomy, but also at fostering its cooperation with security partners.\u00a0It coincides with\u00a0NATO\u2019s\u00a0launch of\u00a0its\u00a02022\u00a0strategic concept<\/a>, which in an unprecedented way refers to\u00a0China\u00a0as a challenge.<\/p>\n

This shift in Europe comes at a time when Australia is resetting its relations with France following the cancellation of the Attack-class submarine project and with the EU after years of misalignment on climate policy. Australia\u2019s national security and regional stability require both resets to happen, so the government should embrace the compass as an opportunity to proactively encourage the EU\u2019s strategic shift, notwithstanding its focus on Russia.<\/p>\n

The EU has for many years approached its relationship with China hoping an engagement strategy that was relatively silent on malicious activity would result in both EU economic prosperity and increased liberalisation in China.\u00a0The result has been some economic prosperity but more dependence and interference, with greater opportunities for attempted coercion by Beijing.<\/p>\n

While the EU\u2019s 2021 Indo-Pacific strategy referred to\u00a0China\u00a0as a systemic rival, it also called it a partner. This is true for almost all countries by virtue of China\u2019s trading relationships, but the inconsistency and ambiguity were always a short-term tactic rather than a long-term strategy.<\/p>\n

The strategic compass needs to be that long-term security strategy. A lasting problem is that some EU members view the US with cynicism. The clear emphasis of the compass on EU security autonomy is in part born out of an aim to quell limited but loud public discontent about the union being too reliant on the US. Ensuring the US is held accountable for its actions is vital, but EU members\u2019 hesitancy to consistently hold Beijing to the same standards has hurt Australia, because it feeds into regional fears of Beijing\u2019s coercive power and reinforces a false narrative that strategic competition is limited to the US and China.<\/p>\n

On the other hand, EU countries collectively have more influence and trust than they may realise in Southeast Asia and the Pacific. Australia should work with the EU to turn this position of trust into a position of positive influence. The strategic compass must be part of this, with Australia able to emphasise the strategy\u2019s focus on strengthening security partnerships with both the EU and individual member states. This is vital for foreign and defence policy, to ensure EU members know that groups like AUKUS and the Quad don\u2019t rule out broader security partnerships.<\/p>\n

The EU\u2019s experience with China should be a key lesson for our region, which would benefit from EU members being upfront about the challenges they have faced. The Chinese government has tried to use its economic heft to bully and coerce individual EU members like Lithuania and the union as a whole. By itself, the Baltic country would not have stood a chance, but the EU showed its collective strength and how to counter coercion from a major power. This is something that single member states too often forget.<\/p>\n

The response required EU members to be willing to forgo short-term economic gain and impose costs\u2014both reputational and economic\u2014on Beijing, a combination that has in the past often proven to be an insurmountable obstacle for collective action. It stymied China\u2019s attempt to embed itself in Europe through the 17+1 trade grouping and other initiatives\u2014thinking it could rely on those in Europe who thought the easiest way out of economic crisis was through Beijing\u2019s largesse. The 17+1, now effectively 14+1 after Lithuania and, more recently, Estonia and Latvia left, is on the verge of collapsing because of China\u2019s malicious activities, in particular economic coercion and failure to deliver promised results.<\/p>\n

While the EU\u2013China relationship shouldn\u2019t have become as entangled as it did, the Lithuania case was the catalyst for refocusing on individual and regional sovereignty. The EU has finally found some momentum to look after its unity and integrity.<\/p>\n

Why does this matter to Australia? Apart from the principle of supporting all partners subject to coercion, the similarities with the Pacific are clear\u2014China\u00a0is picking off those small nations keen on quick financial support and making inroads through what\u00a0it sees\u00a0as weak links.<\/p>\n

Hoping, or even expecting, a Lithuania-style own goal from Beijing in the Pacific is not a strategy. Australia now has a chance to become the leading partner for the EU in the region, especially with its renewed focus on climate policy that matches the Pacific\u2019s top priority, as well as the EU\u2019s. Combine that with Australia\u2019s efforts to reset with France and expect to see a Pacific program as part of reinvigorated relations.<\/p>\n

Active Australia\u2013EU collaboration, along with partners such as the US and Japan, can ensure we are not just relying on China\u2019s own goals but scoring plenty of our own.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Missed by many amid Russia\u2019s war on Ukraine, Australia\u2019s federal election and China\u2019s inroads into the Pacific was the European Union\u2019s\u00a0strategic compass, launched in March after almost two years of development.\u00a0As Deputy Prime Minister and …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1559,"featured_media":74771,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[17,52,3211,294,325,1025],"class_list":["post-74768","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general","tag-australia","tag-china","tag-coercion","tag-diplomacy","tag-europe","tag-european-union"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nEurope\u2019s rocky relations with China are an opportunity for Australia | The Strategist<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/europes-rocky-relations-with-china-are-an-opportunity-for-australia\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Europe\u2019s rocky relations with China are an opportunity for Australia | The Strategist\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Missed by many amid Russia\u2019s war on Ukraine, Australia\u2019s federal election and China\u2019s inroads into the Pacific was the European Union\u2019s\u00a0strategic compass, launched in March after almost two years of development.\u00a0As Deputy Prime Minister and ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/europes-rocky-relations-with-china-are-an-opportunity-for-australia\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Strategist\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ASPI.org\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-08-26T01:00:40+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-08-26T00:49:53+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/GettyImages-1239657790.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1024\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"683\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Justin Bassi\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@ASPI_org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@ASPI_org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Justin Bassi\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/\",\"name\":\"The Strategist\",\"description\":\"ASPI's analysis and commentary site\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\"},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/europes-rocky-relations-with-china-are-an-opportunity-for-australia\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/GettyImages-1239657790.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/GettyImages-1239657790.jpg\",\"width\":1024,\"height\":683,\"caption\":\"European Council President Charles Michel (R) and European Union Foreign policy chief Josep Borrell (L) speak ahead of a EU China summit with Chinese Premier via video-conference at the European Council building in Brussels, on April 1, 2022. (Photo by Olivier Matthys \/ POOL \/ AFP) (Photo by OLIVIER MATTHYS\/POOL\/AFP via Getty Images)\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/europes-rocky-relations-with-china-are-an-opportunity-for-australia\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/europes-rocky-relations-with-china-are-an-opportunity-for-australia\/\",\"name\":\"Europe\u2019s rocky relations with China are an opportunity for Australia | The Strategist\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/europes-rocky-relations-with-china-are-an-opportunity-for-australia\/#primaryimage\"},\"datePublished\":\"2022-08-26T01:00:40+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-08-26T00:49:53+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/#\/schema\/person\/5e2d55ef0c16714833ccf2506197d321\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/europes-rocky-relations-with-china-are-an-opportunity-for-australia\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/europes-rocky-relations-with-china-are-an-opportunity-for-australia\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/europes-rocky-relations-with-china-are-an-opportunity-for-australia\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Europe\u2019s rocky relations with China are an opportunity for Australia\"}]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/#\/schema\/person\/5e2d55ef0c16714833ccf2506197d321\",\"name\":\"Justin Bassi\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ae57bc3216539100523eaf6e0cdfea1c?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ae57bc3216539100523eaf6e0cdfea1c?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Justin Bassi\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/author\/justin-bassi\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Europe\u2019s rocky relations with China are an opportunity for Australia | The Strategist","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/europes-rocky-relations-with-china-are-an-opportunity-for-australia\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Europe\u2019s rocky relations with China are an opportunity for Australia | The Strategist","og_description":"Missed by many amid Russia\u2019s war on Ukraine, Australia\u2019s federal election and China\u2019s inroads into the Pacific was the European Union\u2019s\u00a0strategic compass, launched in March after almost two years of development.\u00a0As Deputy Prime Minister and ...","og_url":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/europes-rocky-relations-with-china-are-an-opportunity-for-australia\/","og_site_name":"The Strategist","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ASPI.org","article_published_time":"2022-08-26T01:00:40+00:00","article_modified_time":"2022-08-26T00:49:53+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1024,"height":683,"url":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/GettyImages-1239657790.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Justin Bassi","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@ASPI_org","twitter_site":"@ASPI_org","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Justin Bassi","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/","name":"The Strategist","description":"ASPI's analysis and commentary site","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-AU"},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-AU","@id":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/europes-rocky-relations-with-china-are-an-opportunity-for-australia\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/GettyImages-1239657790.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/GettyImages-1239657790.jpg","width":1024,"height":683,"caption":"European Council President Charles Michel (R) and European Union Foreign policy chief Josep Borrell (L) speak ahead of a EU China summit with Chinese Premier via video-conference at the European Council building in Brussels, on April 1, 2022. (Photo by Olivier Matthys \/ POOL \/ AFP) (Photo by OLIVIER MATTHYS\/POOL\/AFP via Getty Images)"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/europes-rocky-relations-with-china-are-an-opportunity-for-australia\/","url":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/europes-rocky-relations-with-china-are-an-opportunity-for-australia\/","name":"Europe\u2019s rocky relations with China are an opportunity for Australia | The Strategist","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/europes-rocky-relations-with-china-are-an-opportunity-for-australia\/#primaryimage"},"datePublished":"2022-08-26T01:00:40+00:00","dateModified":"2022-08-26T00:49:53+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/#\/schema\/person\/5e2d55ef0c16714833ccf2506197d321"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/europes-rocky-relations-with-china-are-an-opportunity-for-australia\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-AU","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/europes-rocky-relations-with-china-are-an-opportunity-for-australia\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/europes-rocky-relations-with-china-are-an-opportunity-for-australia\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Europe\u2019s rocky relations with China are an opportunity for Australia"}]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/#\/schema\/person\/5e2d55ef0c16714833ccf2506197d321","name":"Justin Bassi","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-AU","@id":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ae57bc3216539100523eaf6e0cdfea1c?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ae57bc3216539100523eaf6e0cdfea1c?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Justin Bassi"},"url":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/author\/justin-bassi\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74768"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1559"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=74768"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74768\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":74773,"href":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74768\/revisions\/74773"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/74771"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=74768"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=74768"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=74768"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}