EU urged to deepen security ties with Asia despite US pressure, says Kallas

The European Union must strengthen its security and defence partnerships with Asian countries despite pressure from the Trump administration to prioritise Europe’s domestic security, according to the bloc’s chief diplomat.

Kaja Kallas, the EU’s high representative for foreign and security policy, told the Financial Times that leaders in democratic Asian nations are increasingly calling on Brussels to remain engaged as a security actor in the Indo-Pacific, in contrast to the United States’ push for European militaries to shift their focus inward, Caliber.Az reports, citing the Financial Times.

“We are concerned about our supply chains and trade routes . . . it’s also our security and that’s why I’m saying that these are increasingly interlinked, you can’t separate one from the other,” Kallas said, underscoring the EU’s interest in ensuring freedom of navigation and free trade in Asia.

She emphasised that many Asian partners were expressing growing concerns over regional instability and questioned whom they could rely on. “The worry is of increasing insecurity [and] whom to trust,” she noted.

The comments come amid continued pressure from Washington for European states to take greater responsibility for their own regional security to enable the US military to concentrate more heavily on countering China in the Indo-Pacific. Elbridge Colby, the US under-secretary of defence for policy, has been a key voice behind this approach.

In May, US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth reiterated the administration’s stance at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, saying the US would “shift our focus to this region . . . as Europe steps up and takes greater ownership for its own security.”

However, Kallas argued that Indo-Pacific nations had been directly impacted by President Donald Trump’s trade policies, such as tariffs, and were increasingly seeking closer ties with Europe.

“What the Asian partners are saying, many of them have been genuinely hurt and don’t understand [given] their good relationship that they have had with Americans until now,” she said. “They are turning to us as we are the reliable partner . . . What they are saying is that, you know, if agreements [with the US] on trade issues can be put aside, then why should we trust the agreements that we have on security?”

The EU currently maintains formal security and defence partnerships with Australia, Japan, and South Korea. In 2020, it also signed a strategic partnership with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), covering areas such as counterterrorism, maritime security, and cybersecurity.

While acknowledging that the EU is “not the traditional security actor,” Kallas said Asian countries are expressing interest in cooperation on maritime security, freedom of navigation, and cyber issues.

“China is telling us that they want to be good partners and they are interested in our partnership,” she said. “If you want to have a partnership, then you also listen to the worries that the other side has.”

Responding to a question about whether the EU is aligning its China policy with Washington, Kallas said: “We have our own China policy and these are the concerns we have.”

By Sabina Mammadli