EU-Japan-Djibouti conduct joint naval exercise in the Gulf of Aden May 10, 2021 (Credit: Copyright 2021 Japan Ministry of Defense)
By Gary Raynaldo DIPLOMATIC TIMES
The European Union, Japan and Djibouti carried out a trilateral joint naval exercise this week in the Gulf of Aden for the first time. The EU has a big stake in the Indo-Pacific region. The Indo-Pacific region represents the world’s economic and strategic centre of gravity. It is home to 60% of the world’s population producing 60% of global GDP, contributing two thirds of current global growth, according to the EU. “The EU, Japan and Djibouti remain committed to maintaining the rules-based international order, including through practical maritime cooperation on freedom of navigation and overflight, in order to secure the safety of maritime routes, protect the world’s maritime domain from all traditional and non-traditional threats, and enhance prosperity through peaceful and stable oceans, the European External Action Service said in a statement. “Together with other partners, the EU, Japan and Djibouti will further contribute to maintaining and strengthening the stability, security, prosperity and sustainable development of the region,” the statement added.
EU-Japan-Djibouti conduct joint naval exercise in the Gulf of Aden May 10, 2021 (Credit: Copyright 2021 Japan Ministry of Defense)
The exercise came after an EU-Japan joint naval exercise and joint port call on Djibouti last October, and after the adoption last month of an EU Strategy for Cooperation in the Indo-Pacific, which called for more such joint activities to promote maritime security in the region. The EU said “Japan welcomes the Strategy as a sign of the EU’s strong commitment to its engagement in the Indo-Pacific”.
The Defence Minister of Japan, KISHI Nobuo stated:
“Japan and the EU are the strategic partners that share common values including the rule of law. We are committed to upholding the rules-based international order through practical maritime cooperation including cooperation on freedom of navigation and overflight. From this perspective, Japan-EU coordination in the waters of the region with the support from Djiboutian Government is extremely important. We would like to further cooperate with the EU in order to maintain and strengthen a Free and Open Indo Pacific.”
EU-Japan-Djibouti conduct joint naval exercise in the Gulf of Aden May 10, 2021 (Credit: Copyright 2021 Japan Ministry of Defense)
China adds carrier pier to Djibouti base, extending Indian Ocean reach
-Beijing looking for other basing opportunities in Africa, US commander says
“China has completed a pier large enough to accommodate an aircraft carrier at a naval base in the eastern African nation of Djibouti, which could potentially allow the country’s navy to project power outside the traditional operating areas of the East and South China seas” – Nikkei.com “The facility, China’s first and only overseas military base, sits near the strategically important Bab-el-Mandeb Strait linking the Indian Ocean and the Red Sea.”
The contents of the new EU-Japan agreements
“The EPA (Economic partnership agreement) and the SPA (Strategic partnership agreement) were signed in July 2018, and became effective in February 2019” – The Foundation for Strategic Research
“The acceleration of the negotiations initiated in 2011, and their ultimate achievement in 2018, are related to an increased urgency, both in Japan and in the EU, to develop a stronger partnership and political cooperation for two main reasons. The first one is the People’s Republic of China’s role, increasingly assertive since Xi Jinping came to power as Secretary General of the Chinese Communist Party in 2012. Suffice to keep in mind that every year since 2012, Xi Jinping repeatedly reminds the PLA to be “war ready”. Even if the discourse is geared to internal politics, it demonstrates China’s leadership’s dangerous willingness to use the threat to use force as a legitimate foreign policy tool.
The second factor was, of course, the Trump administration, which increased the determination of both Japan and the EU to coordinate better and support multilateralism, based on shared values opposed to populism and nationalism.”
– The Foundation for Strategic Research
EU-Japan-Djibouti conduct joint naval exercise in the Gulf of Aden May 10, 2021 (Credit: Copyright 2021 Japan Ministry of Defense)
