Young Strategists Forum
Policy Brief
July 2013
Summary: As the United States has grown concerned about escalating tensions in the Asia-Pacific and increased its involvement in the region, it has sought to enlist the help of two of the largest economic and military powers in the world: India and Europe. However, these two powers are not proving to be the forthcoming partners Washington would like. This paper explores the similarities and contrasts between the European and Indian positions toward the Asia-Pacific in order to highlight the challenges for the United States of international cooperation in an increasingly multipolar world. It also recommends how, in light of their differences, both powers and the United States can best work together in the region.
1744 R Street NW Washington, DC 20009 T 1 202 745 3950 F 1 202 265 1662 E info@gmfus.org
Challenges of a Multipolar World: The United States, India, and the European Union in the Asia-Pacific by Rohan Mukherjee and Clara Marina O’Donnell Introduction As the United States has grown concerned about escalating tensions in the Asia-Pacific and increased its involvement in the region, it has sought to enlist the help of two of the largest economic and military powers in the world: India and Europe. However, these two powers are not proving to be the forthcoming partners Washington would like. India and Europe share ambitions of global leadership and many of the United States’ broad interests in the Asia-Pacific. In addition, Europeans are the United States’ closest military and diplomatic partners. But both India and Europe also have security priorities closer to home, and they do not see eye to eye with Washington — or with each other — on the best way to pursue some of their interests. This paper explores the similarities and contrasts between the European and Indian positions toward the Asia-Pacific in order to highlight the challenges for the United States of international cooperation in an increasingly multipolar world. It will also recommend how, in light of their differences, both powers and the
United States can best work together in the region. Common Interests Like the United States, India and the European Union (EU) stand to gain from open markets and regional stability across the Asia-Pacific. For both Delhi and Brussels, the region is an important economic partner. Since the end of the Cold War, India has sought to increase its trade and investment ties with East and Southeast Asian countries. From Delhi’s perspective, higher levels of investment from prosperous regional economies such as Singapore and Japan can assist India in diversifying its economic relationships and in achieving developmental goals. Europeans have long viewed their Asian counterparts as helpful markets for their exports — and the region’s appeal as a source of potential economic growth has only increased with Europe’s economic crisis. Unable to make progress toward trade liberalization within the World Trade Organization (WTO) in recent years, both India and the EU have sought to establish an extensive network of free trade agreements (FTAs) across the region — and they have been more