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China not invited to EU, Indo-Pacific policy talks in Sweden – but it will loom over them
- China is on the agenda as 60 ministers from Indo-Pacific, Europe meet in Stockholm this weekend to debate regional security
- EU foreign ministers will discuss ‘de-risking’ from China, while learning to live alongside the emerging superpower
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Finbarr Berminghamin Stockholm
Sixty ministers from around the Indo-Pacific and Europe will descend on Stockholm this Saturday to debate issues ranging from the South China Sea to security and Taiwan.
But two of the biggest actors in this particular theatre – mainland China and Taiwan – will not be present.
“China has never engaged with any partners in the framework of Indo-Pacific concepts, which it explicitly criticises,” said a senior European Union official when asked why China was not invited, even though it looms large over the discussions.
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Taiwan, on the other hand, is excluded from all official state engagements – including this second annual Indo-Pacific ministerial forum – in accordance with the EU’s one-China policy.
02:03
Japan and New Zealand pledge to strengthen cooperation in Indo-Pacific
Japan and New Zealand pledge to strengthen cooperation in Indo-Pacific
The first such forum took place on the eve of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which has since become a dominant issue in any EU foreign policy engagement.
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