The European Union wants to step up its naval visits and possibly engage in joint military exercises to promote freedom of navigation and respect for international law in the disputed South China Sea, an EU official said on Wednesday.
EU special envoy to the Indo-Pacific region Richard Tibbels said the 27-nation bloc is also ready to provide satellite surveillance to help countries like the Philippines respond to natural disasters and protect their interests, as tensions opposing China to its smaller neighbors are intensifying in the disputed waterway.
The outreach is part of an EU strategy, unveiled in 2021, to focus its actions in the Indo-Pacific to contribute to regional security amid heightened geopolitical competition. The long-term commitment would be based on shared values, including a commitment to respect democracy, human rights and the rule of law, Tibbels said.
“We have a very strong interest in making sure that the freedom of navigation and overflight continues and that the global trading system is not affected by the growing tensions in the region,” Tibbels told the Associated Press in an interview in Manila, where he met with Filipino foreigners, defense and coast guard officials.
Around 40% of EU foreign trade transits through the South China Sea, making stability a key concern.
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“We will try to step up our naval presence,” Tibbels said, when asked what steps the EU was willing to take to uphold freedom of mobility and international law, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of sea, in disputed waters.
Some European countries, including Germany, have deployed warships to the region in recent years.
“We will try to encourage and coordinate our member states to continue such naval visits including joint exercises if that is possible,” he said. Such deployments would be “relatively small” but could be done on a regular basis given the capabilities of bloc member states, she said.
EU Special Envoy to the Indo-Pacific region Richard Tibbels speaks during an interview in Makati, Philippines March 15, 2023. The European Union wants to step up its naval visits to promote freedom of navigation in the disputed South China Sea , according to Tibbels. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)
The US military has deployed aircraft carriers, warships and fighter jets on regular patrols that challenge China’s extensive territorial claims, prompting angry reactions from Beijing.
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A similar coordinated EU naval presence in the northwestern Indian Ocean has been organized to promote freedom of navigation and repel pirate attacks on commercial vessels. The effort could expand eastward in the future, closer to Asia “as member states’ naval capabilities permit,” Tibbels said.
Tibbels reiterated the EU’s support for the efforts of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations to negotiate “an acceptable code of conduct” with China to prevent long-simmering territorial conflicts from escalating into armed clashes.
ASEAN members Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei, along with China and Taiwan, have long been locked in a tense territorial stalemate in the South China Sea, which straddles some of the world’s busiest shipping lanes and is believed to sit atop sizable undersea oil and gas fields.
Tibbels also addressed concerns over tensions between China and Taiwan, saying the EU has continuously warned of massive disruption to the global trading system, including from China, if the situation gets out of control in the Taiwan Strait.
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China claims Taiwan as its own territory to be brought under its control by force if necessary. Senior US officials have called for stepping up preparations, saying in memos and congressional testimony that China sees an ever-shrinking window of action and could switch to Taiwan within a few years.
“We are talking to our like-minded partners. We want to be prepared. We want to understand what would need to be done if tensions escalate and that is a lot of behind-the-scenes work,” said Tibbels.
“But I think you can obviously count on the reaction of like-minded partners should any untoward developments occur,” Tibbels said, without elaborating.
