Power Shifts and Tensions in East Asia: Implications for European Security

Abstract:

This article seeks to answer two questions: What are the security implications of the conflicts and shifting balance of power in East Asia for European security? Is Brussels prepared for these developments or the escalation of individual conflicts?

To this end, I discuss the rise of China and its growing global ambitions, the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, Sino-Russian cooperation, and cyber warfare. Further, I outline possible consequences of military clashes in East Asia for Europe. The results are frustrating: European Union (EU) members are both mentally and materially unprepared for the changes afoot in the Far East and the possible outbreak of war.

To change this, the EU would have to take a narrow conception of security (i.e. traditional security issues) more seriously. This includes the insight that the European experience does not apply to the current security dilemma in East Asia. If the EU wants to be taken seriously as a strategic actor in the Far East, it will have to reconsider its self-conception as a civilian power.

The article ends with suggestions for a better EU security policy in East Asia.