Fulcrum editor William Choong talks to Niclas Kvarnström, Managing Director for Asia and the Pacific at the European External Action Service (EEAS), about the European Union’s evolving approaches to the Indo-Pacific.

1:28 – Niclas Kvarnström’s role as the MD for Asia and the Pacific in the EEAS

4:27 – Niclas Kvarnström’s assessment of French President Emmanuel Macron’s keynote speech at the Shangri-La Dialogue

7:35 – Views on trade negotiations between the EU and ASEAN member states, and the EU’s place in larger regional trading blocs in the Pacific

12:30 – The dichotomous results of the State of Southeast Asia Survey 2025, showing that the EU is Southeast Asia’s second-most-trusted partner, yet ranks low in strategic relevance

21:19 – On whether European security forces can continue to participate in the Indo-Pacific given pressing priorities closer to home

24:44 – On US Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth’s call for US allies in Asia to spend 5 per cent of their GDP on defence

27:30 – What can the EU do to manage hotspots in the Indo-Pacific

Dialogues at Fulcrum is a podcast published by the ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute.

The European Union Looks East Towards the Indo-Pacific