Europe

Australia has just become part of something momentous in the Indo-Pacific: a maritime super-region at the epicentre of strategic competition between the United States and China. The new tripartite security grouping between Australia, the UK and the US, called AUKUS, deepens the long-standing relationship between three of the world's most multicultural democracies. While the creation of the newly-formed AUKUS is a significant development in the geopolitical environment of the Indo-Pacific, adding more power will be vital in building a balance against China’s power.

After 16 years as German Chancellor, Angela Merkel will not stand again in the German federal elections. This means that not only Germany but also the EU is losing one of its most experienced politicians. From the sovereign debt crisis to the migration crisis and the current impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, Merkel has most of the time managed to maintain her reputation as a crisis manager. Some 10 years after her "first" crisis, the sovereign debt crisis in the EU, it is time to look at her decisions and especially the handling of Greece: Why did the German government initially resist financial support for Greece but eventually (and reluctantly) agreed to it?

50 years after the then UK defence secretary Denis Healey announced Britain’s retreat from the Indo-Pacific in 1968, the UK is once again drawn into the geoeconomic and geostrategic challenges of the maritime region. This desire to extend Britain's strategic horizon was accelerated by the vote to leave the EU in 2016. In particular, the decision to leave the European single market has forced Downing Street to strengthen its trading relationships with partners beyond the EU - a considerable number of which reside in the Indo-Pacific region.