MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 17th September, 2021) The relationship of the European Union with Australia will not be weakened by the cancellation of an arms deal with France, High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs Josep Borrell said on Thursday.
"This event doesn't weaken our relations with Australia. It is a partner we have in the region. I understand how disappointed the French government must be," Borrell said during a press conference on the Joint Communication to the European Parliament on the Indo-Pacific.
The comments by the top European diplomat came after it was announced that the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia had formed a major defense alliance, bringing a sudden end to France's $90 billion arms deal with Australia, signed in 2016.
Borrell noted the importance of the greater Indo-Pacific and the need for an increased European naval presence in the region, as he outlined the long-term strategic goals of the bloc in this area.
"On security and defense, I want to stress the importance that we give to a meaningful European naval presence in this area (Indo-Pacific). We will explore ways to ensure an enhanced naval deployment by our member states in the region," Borrell said.
The EU is one of the top investors in this geographical region, which holds waterways of crucial importance to international trade, including the Malacca Straits, the South China Sea, and the Babel-Mandeb Strait.
The bloc's purpose in a potential expanded naval presence is to protect those routes, as well as protecting freedom of navigation in the region, the high representative added.
Since April 2021, the EU has adopted the strategy of cooperation in the Indo-Pacific. The bloc is attempting to work together with countries in the region in areas of sustainable and inclusive prosperity, green transition, oceanic governance, digital governance and partnerships, connectivity, security and defense, and human security. This development is an indication of the bloc's new geopolitical approach towards the Indo-Pacific, which it will be pursuing fully in the years to come.
