Peace and Security in Asia-Pacific

The rise of Asia is one of the most important developments of the 21^st century. It confers on the Asian continent and its Pacific shores a renewed importance in the current reconfiguration of global power relations.

Yet, multiple issues are at stake in Asia. The continent is not a calm strategic space: extreme nationalisms, territorial and maritime disputes are signs that this thriving territory is threatened. Furthermore, no regional institution has proven itself capable of avoiding escalation and giving this complex and multi-faceted area a strategic identity so far.

In the wake of this « transformation of the world » come many questions for an introspective Europe. How intelligible are the overlapping processes of strategic competition and cooperation in Asia to Europeans? How can European institutions and states cope with an increasingly armed Asia while they simultaneously divest the defence sector of its resources? What will be the impacts on European security and prosperity? Although many competences are to be found in Europe, which could help in dealing with these questions, they face a dual challenge. First, they lack coherence. Second, they suffer from the tyranny of distance, which makes Asian interests all too often appear remote or vague to European audiences.

Via its collaborative stance and research centred on the perceptions of Asian stakeholders rather than on a “European lens”, the GRIP “Peace and Security in Asia-Pacific” programme seeks to fill these gaps. Through its bilingual publications, its network and joint projects, GRIP aims to provide a platform for Asian strategic issues in Europe, based on high-end and collaborative research. Its added value lies in its focus on peace and security affairs, mainly tackled through:

• Maritime security in Asia: state policies and stakes for global security,

• Strategic cultures in Asia,

• Military spending, arms transfers, the development of defence technological and industrial bases in Asia,

• The role of Europe in the current reconfiguration of power relations,

• China and the Asian security: development and scenarios.