Unpacking the EU’s Indo-Pacific strategy: a testing case of strategic autonomy

In 2021, the European Union (EU) unveiled its first common Indo-Pacific strategy, demonstrating its emphasis on the Indo-Pacific region and plans to implement cohesive strategies as an autonomous actor outside of Europe. However, the EUs engagement in the Indo-Pacific region has yielded mixed results in terms of enabling the EUs exercise of strategic autonomy. Overall, deliverable actions fall short of the EUs vision of strategic autonomy. This shortcoming is attributable to three main problems: (1) the EUs strategic capacity is weak, (2) the Indo-Pacific strategy rebrands existing initiatives, and (3) the EU and the United States emphasise different strategy and policy domains. Nevertheless, the EU has opportunities to exercise its influence in the region, owing largely to its economic clout and policy choices.