Europe politics
fromwww.dw.com
1 week agoTrust in EU grows in Southeast Asia, but challenges remain
The EU is Southeast Asia's preferred third party to counter US-China rivalry, with growing trust and strategic partnerships in trade.
For Thai national Khaochat Mankong, 2026 was meant to be the biggest year of her life. After filing the necessary paperwork with the United States embassy in Bangkok, Khaochat, 27, was poised to start a new life with her American husband in California. Last week, Khaochat watched those plans evaporate in an instant as US President Donald Trump's administration announced an indefinite pause on the processing of immigrant visa applications from 75 countries, including Thailand.
The upgrade places the EU on the same diplomatic footing as the United States, China and Russia and was announced during a visit to Hanoi by European Council President António Costa. "At a moment when the international rules-based order is under threat from multiple sides, we need to stand side by side as reliable and predictable partners," Costa said, adding that the partnership is about "developing spheres of shared prosperity."
This month, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet wrote to French President Emmanuel Macron, saying that Phnom Penh would also welcome expertise and advisory support from the former colonial power. "The prime minister firmly believes that France's continued engagement will serve the shared objective of achieving a just and lasting solution, allowing the Cambodian and Thai peoples to live side by side in peace, security, good neighborliness and prosperity for generations to come," Cambodia's Foreign Ministry said in a press release.
The announcement of a "Comprehensive Strategic Partnership" between Brussels and Hanoi last week places the EU side by side with China, the United States, and Russia as one of Vietnam's top-tier diplomatic relationships. Vietnamese President Luong Cuong described it as a "historical milestone underlining the great achievements that the two sides have made," during a meeting with the head of the European Council, Antonio Costa, in Hanoi.
Philippine Foreign Secretary Theresa Lazaro said on Thursday that ASEAN has not endorsed the three phases of the elections that were held in Myanmar, which concluded last weekend. Lazaro was speaking after hosting ASEAN's first major ministerial meetings this year in the central Philippines city of Cebu, where the Myanmar crisis was high on the agenda. Asked in a news conference if the bloc did not recognise the elections, Lazaro said yes, as of now.