The Indo-Pacific region is a key region in terms of maritime geopolitics, security, trade and environmental issues. With China’s rise, increasing tensions over territorial claims and the region’s strategic importance, several European countries, including Germany and France, have implemented comprehensive policies.
The Republic of Korea (ROK, or South Korea), a technologically advanced nation, is internationally famous for its export of semiconductors, cars and pop culture. In the past few years, South Korea has also successfully grown its defence industry, securing major deals abroad. Emerging as one of the world’s fastest-growing defence exporters, South Korea ascended from the 31st position in 2000 to a top ten ranking between 2019 and 2023 in the global arms trade, taking many by surprise, especially in Europe.
Relations between the EU, especially France, and Cambodia have been more strained in recent years due to the EU’s criticism of Cambodia’s human rights and democratic environment. Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet’s visit to France on 18-19 January 2024 represented a turning point in the bilateral relations between the two nations.
Mongolia boasts an incredibly rich array of natural resources, from copper to coal, to rare earth metals. Although the country also contains rich and accessible uranium deposits, the mineral has not been mined in Mongolia since the 1990s, after the last Russian uranium mine closed. Though companies like the Canadian-owned Khan Resources have attempted to restart production since, none have managed yet to overcome the political, environmental and legal hurdles that inevitably arise when mining in Mongolia. In October 2023, the French nuclear company Orano signed a deal to mine uranium in Mongolia after concerns about France’s nuclear supply arose due to instability in western Africa, where it historically sourced most of its uranium. Many questions remain, as to whether the project will succeed unlike previously failed attempts to mine the element in the country, and as to how the mineral will leave Mongolia, which is landlocked and enveloped by China and Russia.
The EU is redefining their position in the international world order through their Indo-Pacific Plan. In this respect, on 22 February 2022, European and Indo-Pacific representatives for foreign affairs and security policy are set to meet in Paris for the Indo-Pacific Forum.