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EU, Southeast Asia to hold first full summit amid security fears

Reuters

European Union (EU) and Southeast Asian nations will hold their first full summit in December 2022, a sign that the two blocs are looking for closer ties amid concerns about security threats from the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and Russia, officials told Reuters.

The summit, to be held in Brussels on December 14, 2022, is seen as a sign of “increasingly close relations in the current geopolitical context,” one EU official said.

The move follows a U.S. pivot to the Indo-Pacific launched by the former U.S. President Barack Obama amid increased attention on a region which sits on major trade routes and is rich in natural resources. (Pictured: European Union flags fly outside the EU Commission headquarters in Brussels, Belgium.)

Previous meetings between the 27-nation EU and the 10-country Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) have usually been attended by presidents of the blocs.

The EU is seeking to boost its clout in the Indo-Pacific amid growing concerns about the PRC and the impact of Beijing’s tensions with Washington, a second EU official said.

Another EU official confirmed security issues would be a key part of the discussions as Brussels seeks a clearer stance from Southeast Asian nations on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Some EU countries, mostly in eastern Europe, want assurances from ASEAN partners that they would not help Moscow bypass Western sanctions and clear references to Russian “aggression” in Ukraine in a summit joint statement, diplomats said.

It is unclear whether they will succeed. Laos and Vietnam abstained in the U.N. vote on the Ukrainian war.

Myanmar’s leaders would not be invited to the summit, reflecting the EU’s criticism of the junta that took power by force after elections there in 2020. The country would be represented by an ambassador, multiple sources said, in line with other international gatherings after the military coup.

IMAGE CREDIT: REUTERS

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