Europe and the Indo-Pacific: Affinities and shared challenges

Over the past two years, there have been high-level visits to the Philippines by European leaders.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen visited in July 2023 to strengthen strategic cooperation and trade relations. German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius visited in August 2024 to discuss defense collaboration, cybersecurity initiatives, and ways to enhance military interoperability. In September 2024, the Stratbase Institute hosted a roundtable discussion as part of the official visit of Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski.

These visits are backed by concrete defense agreements. In May 2025, Germany and the Philippines signed a defense cooperation agreement to expand collaboration on cybersecurity, military logistics, defense armament, and UN peacekeeping operations. Negotiations are also ongoing for a Visiting Forces Agreement with France.

These steps reflect Europe’s growing recognition that its security is inseparable from the Indo-Pacific’s. Indeed, both regions share strong security and economic ties, fortified by common challenges and interests.

Beyond security, both Europe and the Indo-Pacific are vital engines of global trade and innovation. The European Union, with its deeply integrated single market of 27 member states, stands as one of the world’s largest economic blocs. According to April 2025 projections from the International Monetary Fund, the EU’s nominal GDP is expected to reach nearly $20 trillion — second only to the United States. Meanwhile, the Indo-Pacific generates 60% of global GDP and contributes two-thirds of global economic growth, based on the European Union’s Strategy for Cooperation in the Indo-Pacific.

These economic strengths are complementary. Cross-regional cooperation is not only strategic but mutually beneficial, deepening interdependence, advancing innovation, and reinforcing resilience amid today’s geopolitical uncertainties.

But interdependence also means shared exposure to external shocks. Both regions now operate in a volatile geopolitical environment marked by grey-zone tactics, cyber intrusions, and strategic coercion. Tensions in the West Philippine Sea show how localized disputes can trigger global ripple effects: any disruption here would directly impact European economies, just as instability in Europe would reverberate across the Indo-Pacific.

Disinformation campaigns exploit vulnerabilities across borders. Critical infrastructure — from undersea cables to maritime chokepoints — is increasingly at risk.

These shared risks demand urgent responses.

It is in this spirit that the Stratbase Institute, in partnership with the European Council on Foreign Relations, convened experts and policymakers from both regions to strengthen joint responses, foster greater trust, and enhance situational awareness in theaters shaped by asymmetric threats.

Held on Sept. 18, the forum, called “Navigating Asymmetric Threats: Cross-Regional Strategies for Europe and the Indo-Pacific,” took place in Makati City.

“This is a very fruitful moment… to have this conversation, to share common experiences, to understand the nature of the threat environment, and to come up with best practices,” said James Crabtree, Distinguished Visiting Fellow of the European Council on Foreign Relations, who gave the opening remarks.

Keynote messages were delivered by RADM Guillaume Pinget, Commander of the French Armed Forces in the Pacific, and by Secretary Eduardo Año, National Security Adviser and Director General of the National Security Council.

“We are committed to defending an open, secure, and inclusive area, free from all forms of coercion, and based on respect for international law, multilateralism, and national sovereignty. In this context, the French Armed Forces are doing their part… by being involved and committed in facing asymmetric threats in the Indo-Pacific,” said Mr. Pinget.

Mr. Año said: “Cross-regional strategies should not be about exclusion or confrontation. Instead, they should be about providing alternatives — credible choices in trade, development, infrastructure and security — while ensuring that no country is left with only one coercive dependency.”

Four panel discussions tackled key economic and security issues. The first panel addressed the new security environment in the Indo-Pacific, given the unprecedented uncertainty occasioned by the second administration of United States President Donald Trump.

The second examined how authoritarian powers are weaponizing legal ambiguity to challenge the rules-based order. The third looked at how undersea cables, forming the backbone of communication, remain exposed to sabotage. The fourth explored how emerging technologies are reshaping asymmetric conflict.

The conversations continue.

Yesterday, Stratbase, in partnership with the Embassy of Ukraine in the Philippines, hosted the forum “Strengthening Strategic Ties: Enhancing Cooperation between the Philippines and Ukraine.” The event marked the official visit of a Ukrainian delegation composed of Members of Parliament and leading analysts. It brought together government officials, scholars, and experts from both countries to deepen dialogue, explore shared challenges in maritime security, and build pathways for bilateral cooperation in a changing global landscape.

This engagement with Ukraine underscores how the security interests of Europe and the Indo-Pacific increasingly intersect — and how values such as sovereignty, international law, and strategic resilience are not regional concerns, but global imperatives.

The future of peace, stability, and prosperity will depend on sustained Europe-Indo-Pacific collaboration. The challenges are daunting. But while there are risks, there are also opportunities for cooperation and mutual reinforcement.

The nations and peoples of Europe and the Indo-Pacific share more than one might imagine. We may be halfway across the world from each other, but changing times have narrowed the gaps and intertwined our futures.

By uniting shared values, resources, and expertise, both regions can set the standard for effective multilateral engagement, uphold sovereignty and freedom of navigation, and address complex security challenges in an interconnected world.

Confronting our threats means strengthening resilience, safeguarding critical infrastructure, and upholding the rules-based international order.