View of Shanghai waterfront at night

Changing Waters: Towards a new EU Asia Strategy

The EU-Asia relationship has changed, from development assistance to cooperation – and possibly competition.

This report explores an overhaul of the EU's 2001 Asia Strategy, more important than ever in the context of Asian economic growth and the US 'pivot'.

Can the EU expand its role in Asian institutions and non-traditional security, acting a neutral arbiter in this volatile region? The report includes contributions from practitioners and academics on EU relations with ASEAN, Australia, Burma, India, Japan, Korea, and China.

Read the report:

Changing Waters: Towards a new EU Asia Strategy

About the authors

  • Biographies from time of publication.
  • Editor: Olivia Gippner is a Dahrendorf postdoctoral fellow on EU-East Asia relations at LSE IDEAS.
  • Scott A.W. Brown is Teaching Support Lecturer at the University of Dundee.
  • Sir Robert Cooper is a retired British diplomat and former Advisor to EU High Representatives Javier Solana and Lady Ashton.
  • Robert Falkner is co-director of the Dahrendorf Forum and Associate Professor of International Relations at LSE.
  • Jan Gaspers is Head of Research of the European China Policy Unit at the Mercator Institute for China Studies (MERICS) in Berlin, Germany.
  • Thomas Henökl is Senior Researcher at the German Development Institute in Bonn.
  • Bertram Lang is a Research Associate with the European China Policy Unit at MERICS.
  • Garima Mohan is a Research Associate at the Berlin based Global Public Policy Institute (GPPi).
  • Philomena Murray is Professor in the School of Social and Political Sciences at the University of Melbourne.
  • Michael Reiterer is Principal Advisor at the Asia Pacific Department of the European External Action Service (EEAS) He contributes this paper in his personal capacity.
  • May-Britt U. Stumbaum is the Director of the NFG Research Group “Asian Perceptions of the EU” at the Free University of Berlin.
  • Diarmuid Torney is a Lecturer in International Relations in the School of Law and Government at Dublin City University, Ireland.
  • Reuben Wong is Jean Monnet Chair (European Integration & Foreign Policy) and Associate Professor in the Political Science Department at the National University of Singapore.
  • Yeo Lay Hwee is Director of the EU Centre and Senior Research Fellow at the Singapore Institute of International Affairs.
  • Yu Jie is Research Associate and member of the Dahrendorf Forum EU-China Working Group LSE IDEAS China Foresight Project Manager.

Launch events

Changing Waters was launched at events across the world.

  • London: 28 April At this event at LSE IDEAS, contributors to Changing Waters spoke about the future of EU-Asia relations from building a new development relationship, expanding the EU's role in Asian security, and Chinese perspectives on the EU. Listen to the podcast.
  • Brussels: 10 May Organised with the Egmont Institute. With Olivia Gippner, Garima Mohan, and Diarmuid Torney. Chaired by Thomas Renard, Senior Fellow, Egmont Institute.
  • Melbourne: 31 May Towards a new EU approach to Asia: Views from an Expert Panel was hosted with the University of Melbourne EU Centre on Shared Complex Challenges with report contributor Prof Philomena Murray. More information on the event on the EU Centre website.
  • Berlin: 16 June Our Berlin event Asia-Pacific in the new EU Global Strategy: From rhetoric to action  was  held at the Mercator Institute for China Studies with Scott Brown, Jan Gaspers, Garima Mohan, and May-Britt U. Stumbaum.

This Special Report was produced as part of the Dahrendorf Forum - Debating Europe, a joint initiative between LSE and the Hertie School of Governance, funded by Stiftung Mercator.