Op-ed Categories

Combating Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) Fishing in Vietnam – The EU’s Yellow Card

Illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing practices have been a critical challenge in Southeast Asia due to their environmental impact and related economic losses, resulting in the weakening of coastal communities. Notwithstanding the efforts being taken at the national level, mitigation and addressing the issue has proved to be challenging in Vietnam. The European Union (EU), a crucial trading partner for the country, has been pressuring Vietnam to combat IUU fishing. With the 5th EU inspection approaching in October 2024, Vietnam has been positively ramping up its efforts. What further action needs to be taken to lift the EU’s yellow card? How can the root causes of IUU fishing be addressed and how can the EU effectively provide adequate support in tackling this?

The EU’s Semiconductor Dilemma: What Does it Take to Regain Strategic Autonomy?

To counter a looming change in balance of global power, the US and the EU have adopted respective de-risking measures, whereby supply chains are diversified and onshored to decrease strategic dependencies against China’s geoeconomic leverage. As China’s semiconductor ecosystem grows more strategic, and US measures more pressing, the EU must wager its position between a democratic ally to Washington and a willing trade partner to Beijing. More importantly, to preserve its technological advantage in the semiconductor industry, the EU needs to regain its strategic autonomy.

Bamboo Diplomacy Meets 5G: Europe’s High-Stakes Bid on Vietnam’s Telecommunications Transformation

In January 2024, Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh approved Vietnam’s sweeping Information And Communication (IC) Infrastructure Plan For The Period Of 2021 – 2030, With A Vision To 2050. With ambitious goals such as connecting 100% of households to fibre optic cable by 2025 and for “5G mobile broadband coverage to reach 99% of the population” by 2030, Vietnam has gone all-in on overhauling its domestic economic policy to become a technologically integrated, highly developed state with full sovereignty over its data within the next 30 years.

The Human, Social, and Political Stakes of Pakistan’s Illegal Foreigners Repatriation Plan

From 2017 to 2023 Pakistan has weathered a severe balance-of-payments crisis, compounded by the economic devastation of the Covid-19 pandemic and one of the worst floods in recent history in 2022. Despite these significant challenges, the government’s primary focus this year has shifted dramatically to a singular group, Afghan refugees.

The EU-Kazakhstan Memorandum of Understanding: Effectiveness versus Opportunities

The European Union (EU) and Kazakhstan signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on 7 November 2022 to establish strategic partnerships specifically focused on sustainable raw materials, batteries, and renewable hydrogen value chains. The MoU, although not binding, has the potential to encourage public and private investment in the exploration, extraction and process of critical raw materials (CRM) in Kazakhstan and to promote the reduction of trade barriers between the parties. As the agreement has entered its first year, understanding the extent to which the commitments have been fulfilled can provide more efficient processes in the future.

Forging Partnerships for the Future: Exploring EU-Japan Dialogue on Education, Culture and Youth

The third EU-Japan dialogue on Education, Culture and Sports held in Tokyo on 3 April 2024 follows the previous meetings held in Budapest in 2018 and by videoconference in 2021 during the pandemic. It demonstrates a continued commitment to cooperation and addressing challenges in the EU-Japan partnership. In response to the issues posed by the pandemic, the dialogues have particularly explored innovative strategies for higher education, including digital education and the integration of artificial intelligence (AI). These digital transformations offer promising avenues for the strengthening of sports diplomacy, fostering collaboration and deepening cultural exchanges.

Charting EU-India Relations Amid the 2024 Elections

On 19 April 2024, India began its seven-phase Lok Sabha (lower house) election. Spanning over 44 days, surpassing the 2019 Indian general election, this term stands as the largest-ever held election in history. Given the 2024 elections in both the EU and India, the future of EU-India relations must address the security challenges of the subcontinent by maintaining clear priorities, including enhancing regional cooperation in South Asia, improving EU-India economic collaboration, and aligning development and job growth objectives with the EU and India’s climate goals.

The Power of the Siberia 2 pipeline: China, Russia, and Mongolia at the nexus of energy geopolitics

The Russian invasion of Ukraine has radically shifted global energy geopolitics, forcing Europe to abandon cheap oil and gas coming from that direction and leaving Russia without one of its most important sources of revenue. Seeking new markets as a result, the Russian state has pivoted to selling its oil and gas to China, fulfilling a longstanding request from the energy-hungry Middle Kingdom, and promising both opportunity and risk to Mongolia.

Opportunities for Japan in the EU

Japan is looking abroad, also to the EU. But can Europe deliver? If Japan chooses to seize the opportunity, Europe can be a fertile ground for Japan’s home-grown strategies. The EU has long looked to expand its reach to the East, thereby even breaking with its multilateral ideals when trading with new partners. The extended reach of EU-Japan cooperation signals the willingness of both parties to create a stronger bond, and an opportunity for Japan to get closer to gain stronger security guarantees, closer relationships with external partners and more expansive trade.